Clippers Trade Tucker, Bamba To Jazz For Eubanks, Mills
2:18 pm: The trade is official, according to press releases from both teams.
11:39 am: The Clippers are trading forward P.J. Tucker, center Mohamed Bamba, a future second-round pick and cash to the Jazz for big man Drew Eubanks and guard Patty Mills, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Bobby Marks (Twitter link). The second-rounder is the Clippers’ 2030 pick, per Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
It’s a cost-cutting move for the Clippers, who will dip below the luxury tax line by swapping Tucker ($11.54MM) out for Eubanks ($5MM). Both Bamba ($2.1MM) and Mills ($2.1MM) are on expiring minimum-salary contracts.
Los Angeles had been operating about $2.47MM above the tax line, but will move below it by approximately $4.07MM as a result of this deal.
Besides generating significant savings this season, the move could financially benefit the team in the long run, since it’s a first step toward resetting the repeater taxpayer clock after spending the previous four years in tax territory.
The Clippers will also create trade exceptions worth $6.54MM and $2.1MM as a result of the deal, as cap experts Yossi Gozlan and Marks note (Twitter links).
Tucker was originally acquired in the trade that brought James Harden to Los Angeles. He only appeared in 28 regular season games (along with two playoff outings) with the franchise in 2023/24.
In February 2024, Tucker spent time away from the team just before the All-Star break. The forward was unhappy with his playing time, but was not traded before last year’s deadline and had a player option worth $11.54MM that made him an unrealistic buyout candidate.
Tucker picked up that option during the 2024 offseason, since he would have had no chance to earn that sort of guaranteed money on the free agent market. Los Angeles was expected to part ways with Tucker over the summer, but a trade or waiver didn’t come to fruition at that time. In October 2024, he and the Clippers mutually agreed that he would remain away from the team while the sides worked toward finding him a new home.
Approximately 15 months after he first arrived in Los Angeles, Tucker has finally been traded and now looks like a prime buyout candidate. The 39-year-old didn’t suit up at all this year for the Clippers and seems unlikely to play for the Jazz either. It’s reasonable to assume that Tucker would prefer to play for a contender with an opportunity to contribute, unless both he and Utah are happy with keeping him in a mentorship role.
Tucker started 75 games for the 54-win Sixers in 2022/23 and 70 games for the 53-win Heat in ’21/22. Any team would be eligible to sign him if he’s bought out since his pre-waiver salary of $11.54MM is lower than the $12.8MM mid-level exception.
Eubanks, who turns 28 today, has seen the most action this season of any the four players involved in the deal. He’ll give the Clippers a new look in the frontcourt. In 37 games (four starts) this season, he has averaged 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per night.
Eubanks signed with the Jazz this past summer on a two-year deal worth $9.75MM. However, the $4.75MM he’s due next year is fully non-guaranteed, giving Los Angeles some extra flexibility.
Mills was holding the Jazz veteran slot that Tucker could potentially take over. The 36-year-old split last season between Atlanta and Miami before signing in Utah. He has appeared in 17 games in 2024/25, averaging 4.4 points per contest. According to Murray (Twitter link), the Clippers plan to keep Mills on the roster for now. It’s possible that changes, however, depending on what additional moves the team might make at the trade deadline or on the buyout market.
Bamba signed with the Clippers during the summer of 2024. He appeared in 28 games with Los Angeles, making two starts and recording averages of 4.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG. The former lottery pick is still just 26 years old and could get a look down the stretch from the Jazz, perhaps claiming Eubanks’ spot on the depth chart.
Bulls Notes: Ball, LaVine, Vucevic, Buzelis
The 2024/25 season has already been a huge success for Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball, who returned from a two-and-a-half-year absence and three knee surgeries and has been an effective role player through his first 28 appearances of the season.
However, Ball continues to push for a larger role within Chicago’s rotation, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times and Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune detail. While playing in back-to-backs remains off the table for the former No. 2 overall pick, team doctors agreed this week to increase Ball’s minutes restriction to 28, according to Poe.
“Every stage, they’ve wanted to see how he’s managed the minutes along the way,” head coach Billy Donovan said, per Cowley. “So it started at 16, then up to 22, then we got to 24. And as long as he feels good and he’s responding, that’s the biggest thing. How does he look the next day? And if he does have any swelling or soreness the next day, any difficulty, then they would start to monitor his minutes. But everything he’s done up to this moment with the restrictions that have been on him has been positive.”
Ball’s per-game averages of 7.0 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 21.1 minutes are all career lows, and his shooting percentages of 36.9% from the floor and 34.7% on three-pointers are below his career rates.
However, like he did in his first season with the organization back in 2021/22, Ball has made the Bulls a better team when he’s on the court. Chicago has outscored opponents by 4.6 points per 100 possessions during his 590 minutes of action and has been outscored by 6.1 points per 100 possessions during the 1,767 minutes he hasn’t played.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The Bulls have remained in contact with the Suns and Warriors with the trade deadline just five days away, a source tells Cowley, as the front office monitors where those two teams stand in the Jimmy Butler talks. Either one of those clubs could pivot to pursuing Zach LaVine and/or Nikola Vucevic if they don’t end up getting Butler, Cowley notes, though Golden State would be better positioned than Phoenix to make a run at one of those Bulls veterans. Chicago also remains interested in getting involved in a Butler deal as a facilitator, but that’s a longer shot, Cowley adds.
- Vucevic isn’t pushing for a trade and said he’s not thinking about leaving Chicago, given that he won’t be a free agent until 2026, but he acknowledged to Poe that – at age 34 – he wouldn’t mind being closer to title contention than he is this season with the 21-28 Bulls. “I’m getting closer to the end of my career,” Vucevic said. “I would like to be somewhere that’s in win-now mode.”
- Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis has been playing some of his best basketball of the season as of late. The first-year forward scored 12 points in each of his past two outings and was a plus-18 in 26 minutes of action in Friday’s win over Toronto as he continues to earn Donovan’s trust. “The biggest growth I’ve seen with him is quite honestly he plays a lot harder now,” Donovan said after Wednesday’s loss to Boston, according to Cowley. “Not that he didn’t play hard, but I don’t think he understood the level of intensity and energy he needs to raise himself up to.”
Dejounte Murray Suffers Torn Achilles Tendon
FEBRUARY 1: The Pelicans have formally confirmed that Murray has a right Achilles tear and will miss the rest of the season (Twitter link).
JANUARY 31: Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray has torn his right Achilles tendon, ending his 2024/25 season, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
Murray suffered the injury in the first quarter of Friday’s loss to Boston. After driving to the basket and attempting a floater, Murray landed awkwardly and fell to the floor without being hit, grabbing the back of his right leg (Twitter video link). At the next stoppage in play, he limped off the court and into the locker room.
The Pelicans have yet to officially confirm the diagnosis. Head coach Willie Green told reporters after the game that Murray would undergo imaging and the team would provide an update after seeing the results (Twitter link via Marc J. Spears of Andscape). However, Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) has also heard that it’s an Achilles tear for the New Orleans guard.
It has been a nightmarish first year as a Pelican for Murray, who was acquired by the club in an offseason trade with Atlanta. As William Guillory of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), the 28-year-old left the team right before the start of the season when his mother suffered a stroke, then broke his left hand in the first game of the regular season.
Murray returned after an 18-game absence following his hand fracture, but his shooting percentage of 39.3% from the field through 30 games entering Friday was easily a career low, and the Pelicans – plagued all season by injuries affecting several starters and rotation players – are off to a 12-37 start.
While this season is a lost cause in New Orleans, there’s also no guarantee Murray will be ready for the start of the 2025/26 campaign, given the typical recovery timeline for an Achilles tear. He has two more guaranteed seasons left on his contract after this season, with a player option for 2027/28.
With Murray unavailable for the rest of the season, the Pelicans figure to lean more heavily on CJ McCollum for ball-handling duties, with reserve guard Jose Alvarado also playing a more substantial role. Alvarado took Murray’s place in the lineup to open the second half on Friday.
New Orleans won’t be eligible to apply for a disabled player exception to replace Murray, since the deadline to apply for a DPE passed on January 15.
Southeast Notes: Herro, Castleton, Caporn
Heat guard Tyler Herro was named an All-Star for the first time in his career on Thursday night. He beat out the likes of Atlanta’s Trae Young, Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey for a spot as one of the East’s guards, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
“I’m truly proud of Tyler because there’s been a lot of media that have thrown that man’s name in the mud,” teammate Bam Adebayo said. “Y’all have thrown his name in trade rumors, y’all have said he’s not good enough, he can’t do this and he can’t do that, all the way down to somebody’s wingspan. So just looking at it from that standpoint and understanding how great Tyler can be, it’s a testament to him and how he’s really worked on his body, how he’s really prepared himself for moments like this.”
Herro has been one of the most durable Heat players this season and he’s averaging career highs in points (24.1), rebounds (5.6), and assists (5.4) per game, as well as field goal percentage (47.4%), three-point percentage (40.0%) and three-point attempts per game (9.7). Herro will also be taking part in the NBA’s three-point contest on All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 15.
“I feel like throughout the years, people thought it would come faster, sooner than this,” Herro said. “But I think the time that we put in every year, every summer, it finally paid off and it was a lot of different trials and tribulations, back and forths with [head coach Erik Spoelstra], what I need to work on every single year. But I always just came in and tried to get better every single day.”
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- While the trade deadline and Jimmy Butler saga are dominating headlines in the short term, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes the Heat have a decision to make later this year on Herro, who will become eligible for an extension as of Oct. 1. While that’s still a way out, it will be interesting to see if that extension is put on the table immediately and whether Miami will be willing to offer the full three-year, $150MM deal Herro will be eligible for.
- Former Grizzlies two-way center Colin Castleton landed with the Magic‘s G League affiliate in Osceola, The Orlando Sentinel’s Jason Beede observes (subscriber link). Castleton appeared in 10 games with the Grizzlies this year, averaging 1.4 points per game in very limited playing time. The Florida product is hoping to get back into the NBA through his time with Osceola. In 17 G League games, he’s averaging 15.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 blocks per night.
- Basketball Australia’s general manager Jason Smith has flown to the United States to meet with both Hawks coach Quin Snyder and Wizards assistant Adam Caporn, NBA insider Jake Fischer reports. Both are major candidates in Australia’s search for a new head coach. We wrote about the Boomers’ interest in Snyder last week. Caporn was born in Australia, playing professionally with Wollongong and Perth. After retiring from his playing days, he has spent time as an assistant with Saint Mary’s, the Nets (and as head coach of their G League affiliate), and now the Wizards. He has also served as assistant for Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence.
Southwest Notes: Wembanyama, Mavs, Thompson, Grizzlies
Victor Wembanyama caught the Spurs‘ attention five years ago, when CEO R.C. Buford saw him play at 15 years old, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes. The Spurs were able to target a strategy at that point that culminated in the French big man ending up in San Antonio.
“It was the way we structured our rebuild,” Buford said. “It was a step-by-step process. We traded DeMar [DeRozan], we traded Derrick White, we traded Dejounte [Murray], we traded Jakob [Poeltl]. So, I mean, it was just a staged target over a period of several years.”
Wembanyama is well on his way to superstardom, and the story came full circle when the Spurs played in the center’s old stomping grounds in Paris last week.
“The lottery luck, the hoop gods were very good to us,” Buford said. “But the vision of a prospect like that was clearly impactful in the strategy of our rebuild.”
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The Mavericks were aggressive at the trade deadline last season, adding Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington to a team that ultimately made a run to the NBA Finals. This season, it’s harder to find deals that make sense for Dallas without sacrificing at a position of need. Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News takes a player-by-player look at the Mavericks’ situation, writing that while stars like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are obviously untouchable, players like Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy could theoretically be moved for a significant upgrade. Still, depth options like Grimes and Hardy have shown flashes that might make them more valuable to Dallas than elsewhere.
- Amen Thompson is continuing to develop into one of the league’s elite defenders in just his second season in the league. Now a full-time starter, Thompson is averaging 13.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. Kelly Iko of The Athletic spoke with Thompson in a recent interview, discussing his fit with the Rockets and changes to his game from last season to this one. “I can be positionless, yeah. I feel like I’m a point guard, but I can be any position you want me to be on the court,” Thompson said. “I feel like that’s such a good thing to have, you know? With Fred [VanVleet] and Jalen [Green] out there, I can be off the ball and thrive.“
- Ja Morant missed the Grizzlies‘ one-point win over Houston on Thursday due a shoulder injury. Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian opines in a subscriber-only story that there should be some worry about the star point guard, who has missed eight of the last 16 games.
Northwest Notes: Strawther, Westbrook, Thunder, Garza, Henderson
Nuggets guard Julian Strawther is establishing himself as a reliable part of Denver’s rotation and an outside scoring threat, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. The second-year Gonzaga product is averaging 9.4 points per game while shooting 37.9% from deep, giving the Nuggets a clear-cut eighth option for their rotation.
For Strawther to maintain his role in coach Michael Malone‘s rotation heading into the playoffs, Denver will need to ensure his development continues at a steady pace, Durando writes.
“What I love about that kid is his work ethic,” Malone said. “He was in our gym every day this summer. And I’m not making that up. Sometimes you hear these stories. They’re inflated. Julian Strawther was in our gym every day this summer.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Russell Westbrook exited Denver’s game against the Sixers on Friday night due to hamstring tightness and did not return, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reports. Westbrook didn’t appear to have a limp and it’s unclear if he’ll miss any additional time due to the injury. If he does, Christian Braun would reenter the starting lineup in his place.
- If the Thunder make a trade at the deadline, it should be a move on the margins and not one that impacts the team chemistry of a squad that has a real shot at winning a title, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman opines. Mussatto comes up with three potential trades, including one for Nets forward Cameron Johnson. Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Hawks guard Garrison Mathews are two lower-cost targets suggested by Mussatto.
- Timberwolves backup big Luka Garza has a history of big performances against Utah, Chris Hine of The Star Tribune observes. In five career games against the Jazz, Garza holds career averages of 12.2 points per game on 58.8% shooting from three, his most against any team. On Thursday, Garza stepped up with Donte DiVincenzo, Mike Conley and Julius Randle dealing with injuries, scoring 16 points.
- Trail Blazers second-year guard Scoot Henderson is putting together more and more good-to-great games and he’s growing as a leader for Portland, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian writes. In 16 games in January, Henderson averaged 14.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 43.8% from three. “His energy has been crazy,” teammate Deandre Ayton said. “He’s becoming a true point guard, being very vocal, talking to everybody.”
Sixers Haven’t Considered Making Coaching Change
The Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last spring and have been one of the NBA’s most disappointing teams so far in 2024/25, but they haven’t given any consideration to making a head coaching change, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
According to Fischer, 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and president of basketball operations Daryl Morey “remain aligned” on how to navigate the team’s injury-plagued season.
Former MVP Joel Embiid has been limited to 13 appearances in 2024/25, while offseason free agent addition Paul George has missed 17 games and standout rookie Jared McCain suffered a season-ending knee injury in December. Tyrese Maxey, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Kyle Lowry, and KJ Martin are among the other Sixers players who have missed time due to various ailments, forcing Nurse to use 28 different starting lineups through 47 games.
Fischer adds that key figures in the organization were encouraged by the way the team competed during its recent four-game winning streak, which came to an end on Friday with a tight 137-134 loss to Denver. Embiid didn’t play in any of those four victories, while George was inactive for two of them.
Doc Rivers‘ hiring as Philadelphia’s head coach during the 2020 offseason predated Morey’s arrival in the front office by about a month, so Nurse was the first coach Morey hired during his tenure in the club’s front office.
The former Raptors head coach took over for Rivers in the spring of 2023, leading the Sixers to a 47-35 record last season and a 66-63 (.516) overall regular season mark through his first year and a half with the organization.
And-Ones: All-Star Snubs, WNBA, Clark, Europe, Canales
There weren’t enough backcourt spots to go around on this year’s All-Star teams, in the view of Marc J. Spears of Andscape, whose annual eight-man “All-Snub” team is made up of seven guards and one center.
Outside of big man Domantas Sabonis, the most glaring omissions from this year’s All-Star rosters were all guards, Spears writes, identifying Trae Young, LaMelo Ball, Zach LaVine, and Tyrese Maxey as four worthy All-Star candidates who didn’t make the cut in the Eastern Conference despite the fact that both Eastern wild card spots went to backcourt players.
Over in the West, Kyrie Irving, Devin Booker, and Norman Powell joined Sabonis as the players most deserving of All-Star recognition who weren’t among the 12 Western players chosen to participate in the game, according to Spears.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Several NBA team owners submitted bids for expansion WNBA franchises ahead of this week’s deadline. Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports says Pistons owner Tom Gores was among the owners to put in a bid, while Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter links) reports that the Sixers‘, Cavaliers‘, and Rockets‘ ownership groups also put forth formal bids. The new teams approved by the WNBA as a result of this round of bidding would begin play in 2028.
- In other WNBA-related news, Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has decided not to take part in a special three-point shooting challenge at the NBA’s All-Star weekend in February, per an ESPN report. There had been speculation that Clark could take part in a contest similar to last year’s Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu shootout, but she wants to compete in her first three-point contest at the WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Indianapolis later this year, according to her representatives at Excel Sports.
- If the NBA moves forward with its plan to launch a new professional league in Europe, what will it look like? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has published an informative primer, while Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews has shared his latest reporting on the subject. Interestingly, Windhorst notes that commissioner Adam Silver and his top lieutenants are “deeply involved” in the European endeavor and wonders if the league’s focus on “NBA Europe” might further delay the timeline for expansion stateside.
- Veteran NBA assistant and current Texas Legends associate head coach Kaleb Canales will be named head coach of the Calgary Surge in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). The CEBL season takes place during the NBA offseason, so Canales could rejoin an NBA staff for the 2025/26 season, Haynes notes.
Bontemps/Windhorst’s Latest: Smart, Thunder, Rockets, Fox
Marcus Smart is a player to watch in advance of next Thursday’s trade deadline, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Insider link), who hears from league sources that there has been “plenty of discussion” as of late about the Grizzlies guard.
Memphis paid a significant price to acquire Smart from Boston during the 2023 offseason, but the former Defensive Player of the Year has been plagued by injuries since that deal, appearing in just 38 games since arriving in Memphis. During that time, young players like Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams, and GG Jackson have emerged for the Grizzlies, perhaps lessening the need for Smart.
Bontemps also points out that moving Smart’s $21.6MM salary off the Grizzlies’ 2025/26 books would put the team in a better position to make moves over the summer, including potentially re-signing restricted free agent Santi Aldama.
Within a look at the top three teams in the Western Conference standings, Windhorst says that Memphis has been “significantly more active” in trade talks than either Oklahoma City or Houston leading up to the February 6 deadline.
Here’s more on those other two West leaders, along with an additional trade-related tidbit from Bontemps and Windhorst:
- The Thunder have made it clear they don’t plan to be aggressive on the trade market during the season, according to Windhorst, who notes that the West’s leaders still haven’t had both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein available at the same time and also swung and missed on an in-season deal (for Gordon Hayward) at last year’s deadline. “With all their draft picks, they can do anything, but they benefit if they can convince everyone they plan to do nothing,” a general manager told Windhorst. “Every team that wants to deal with them will want them to overpay. Plus, teams who want to make a trade will want to engage them because it would raise the price for everyone else.”
- One reason the Rockets have repeatedly conveyed that they’re not looking to make a major in-season deal is that they want to see how their current group fares in the postseason, Bontemps writes. According to Windhorst, while Houston is well positioned to consolidate assets in a trade for a star, the team remains optimistic about Amen Thompson‘s potential to develop into that sort of player. As a full-time starter across 12 outings in January, the second-year wing has averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game with a 55.7% field goal percentage.
- Examining how the De’Aaron Fox situation in Sacramento got to a place where the Kings are exploring moving their star point guard, Windhorst cites sources who say Fox has been “less engaged than usual” this season after declining a preseason extension and that it didn’t help matters when he received “undeserved blame” for the firing of head coach Mike Brown. One league executive who spoke to ESPN thinks Sacramento is right to make the 27-year-old available while he has still has a year and a half left on his contract. “Bottom line here is the Kings seem to know Fox isn’t going to re-sign with them,” that exec said. “That’s clarifying, and now they can be a first mover and do it at a time when they can get the best deal. This is how Utah played things with Donovan Mitchell a few years ago. They got out ahead of it and generated a bidding war.”
Suns Notes: Booker, Butler, Trade Options, Durant
Devin Booker was named an All-Star in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024, but unless he’s a last-minute injury replacement, the Suns guard won’t be headed to San Francisco for this year’s event.
Addressing his omission after Friday morning’s shootaround, Booker told reporters that he would’ve loved to be selected, but added that there were many deserving players and that he’s “definitely not going to complain about taking a week to regroup with the family,” writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
While Booker’s shooting numbers (.444/.341/.893) are down this year, his averages of 25.5 points and 6.7 assists per game are above his career rates. Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer said on Wednesday that Booker is “clearly in our minds an All-Star” and teammate Kevin Durant agreed.
Durant also suggested that All-Star rosters should be expanded from 12 to 15 players to reflect the size of actual NBA rosters and to better reward deserving players: “So many great players going out there impacting their team in a positive way that are being snubbed. They’ll always be snubs every year, but I think we should add three more.”
Asked about the idea, Booker wasn’t opposed to it and pointed to a handful of players he felt were snubbed this season.
“I think there are enough talented guys out here, like I said, that are deserving,” Booker said. “You look at Kyrie (Irving), Norman Powell, those guys are having unbelievable, efficient years, and winning games. On the East, I’m sure there are guys too like Trae (Young) and LaMelo (Ball) that are putting up just unheard numbers. The more talent in there, the better.”
We have more on the Suns:
- While the mutual interest between the Suns and Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been reported ad nauseam in recent weeks, Phoenix isn’t taking a “Butler or bust” approach to the trade deadline, says John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links). According to Gambadoro, the front office is looking at more than 20 potential trade targets and the odds are in favor of the Suns making one or more deadline deals, even if they don’t end up landing Butler.
- Although the Suns have no shortage of potential directions at the trade deadline, it remains safe to assume stars Durant and Booker aren’t going anywhere. Within an in-depth story on the situation in Phoenix, Ramona Shelburne and Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) say that teams who have called to ask about Durant have been rebuffed. That’s also been the case for the clubs “bold enough to inquire” on Booker, who has never given indication he’d leave Phoenix to chase a title elsewhere, sources tell Shelburne and Marks.
- With Durant nearing the 30,000-point threshold and on the verge of surpassing Julius Erving for eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, Tim MacMahon of ESPN spoke to many of the forward’s current and former teammates about what makes the former MVP such an elite offensive player.