Heat Notes: Highsmith, Butler, Adebayo, Jaquez, Herro
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra made a significant change to his starting lineup Tuesday night, using rookie big man Kel’el Ware alongside Bam Adebayo in a double-big frontcourt. That meant Haywood Highsmith came off the bench after starting 32 of the previous 33 games he had played, and he saw just four minutes of action in a loss to Portland.
“Just control what I can control,” Highsmith told reporters, including Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “It’s a long season. I know there are going to be ups and downs. I’m used to it, for sure.”
The 28-year-old forward has been primarily a reserve during his four seasons in Miami, but his role has expanded this season, even though his minutes aren’t always steady. Spoelstra emphasized that the team is still counting on Highsmith to contribute, even when he doesn’t start.
“I actually talked to him about it, that sometimes when things are fluid and they’re moving fast, sometimes things happen and it’s not at all an indictment or an indication of how you’re playing,” Spoelstra said. “He’s an example of that. He’s had really important minutes and his role is important for us. He just has to stay with it. We all believe in him, we all know his importance. And as we figure things out, his minutes will likely be more consistent.”
There’s more from Miami:
- In light of Jimmy Butler‘s latest suspension, Shams Charania of ESPN describes the situation with the volatile forward as “untenable” (Twitter video link). He adds that Heat coaches and players view the standoff as “a distraction” and “chaos,” and some cite a lack of clarity in the organization.
- Among the reasons for Butler’s first suspension was a perceived lack of effort, and Bobby Marks of ESPN offers several statistics to back that up (Twitter link). Among the highlights, Butler attempted fewer than 10 field goals in four of his last five games, and he moved at a “fast speed” – as defined by Second Spectrum – just 5% of the time in Tuesday’s game vs. Portland.
- Adebayo has helped to keep the team’s younger players focused on business rather than the daily news about Butler, per Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. “They’re handling it as professionally as they should,” Adebayo said. “I’m really emphasizing to the young guys to really be professional in this league. But, like I said before, we still have to play games.”
- Jaime Jaquez filled in well as Butler’s replacement in the starting lineup during his first suspension, but he was back in a reserve role once Butler returned, Winderman adds. The second-year forward has already learned how to handle such adjustments. “What I realize is that is part of the NBA,” Jaquez said. “And you’ve just got to be ready for what comes. And I think, myself, I’m starting to grow and realize just be ready for anything, not have any expectations, just go out here and be ready to hoop.”
- The Heat struggled to create good scoring opportunities on Tuesday as Tyler Herro missed his first game of the season, Winderman observes in a separate story. Herro is dealing with groin soreness, but he’s listed as probable for Thursday’s game at Milwaukee.
No Recent Talks Between Nets, Kings About Cameron Johnson
The Kings are considered to be among the top suitors for Nets forward Cameron Johnson, but the teams haven’t engaged in trade talks for several weeks, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack column (subscription required).
A source tells Stein that Sacramento officials currently don’t see a way to complete a deal for Johnson before the February 6 trade deadline. The Kings are pursuing deals with other teams instead of focusing on Johnson, Stein adds.
A weekend report from Jake Fischer at the Stein Line confirmed that the Nets haven’t lowered their price for Johnson, as they continue to ask for two first-round picks and a young player. Earlier this month, Stein stated that Sacramento wasn’t willing to part with rookie guard Devin Carter, and it appears that stance hasn’t changed.
Fischer added that the Cavaliers have called about Johnson, but their interest seems to just be exploratory. He points out that Cleveland doesn’t have a first-round pick that it can trade until 2031, so it’s nearly impossible to meet Brooklyn’s demands.
Stein brings up the Pacers as another team to watch in the Johnson pursuit. However, Indiana has risen to fifth in the East after a recent hot streak, and Stein questions whether the front office would want to break up the current roster in light of its success.
It’s possible that the Nets will hang on to Johnson past the trade deadline and see if better offers arise this summer. He’s in the midst of a career-best season, averaging 19.4 points per game while shooting 49.1% from the field and 41.9% from beyond the arc.
Mavs’ Lively Has Fracture In Ankle, Expected To Miss 2-3 Months
4:42pm: Lively suffered a stress fracture in his right ankle and will be reevaluated in four weeks, the Mavericks announced (via Twitter).
12:20pm: Mavericks center Dereck Lively has been diagnosed with a small fracture in his right foot and is expected to be sidelined for the next two-to-three months, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
Lively has missed the past three games due to an injury he suffered last Tuesday vs. Denver that was initially listed as a right ankle sprain. Further testing revealed the fracture in that foot, sources tell Charania.
It’s a brutal blow for a Mavericks team that is already dealing with a series of injuries to key players, starting with top scorer Luka Doncic, who has been out since Christmas Day due to a calf strain.
Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) has yet to make his season debut, while Jaden Hardy (right ankle sprain) and Dwight Powell (right hip strain) are also currently unavailable. Kyrie Irving recently missed several games due to a back ailment and a handful of other Mavs are battling day-to-day issues. After starting the season 20-11, Dallas has lost nine of its last 12 games.
Lively was a key part of the Mavs’ early-season success. His +8.1 net rating in 768 minutes of action is the second-best mark on the team, behind only Doncic (+9.9 in 785 minutes). The second-year center, who will turn 21 next month, has averaged 9.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 blocks in 24.0 minutes per night across 32 games (25 starts).
In Lively’s absence, the Mavs figure to lean more heavily on Daniel Gafford, who has split center minutes with Lively since arriving in Dallas at last year’s trade deadline. A recent report indicated that the club had been willing to discuss Gafford as it sought an impact perimeter defender, but I imagine that will no longer be the case.
Maxi Kleber and Powell are among the Mavs’ other options up front, with P.J. Washington also seeing some time as a small-ball center.
If Lively is able to make it back on the court within two or two-and-a-half months, he should be available for the end of the regular season and all of the postseason. If his recovery timeline is closer to three months – or beyond – he won’t have a chance to return until the playoffs, assuming the Mavs make it. They’re currently seventh in the West, with a 23-20 record.
Atlantic Notes: Drummond, Thomas, Hart, Raptors
Sixers center Andre Drummond cashed in with Detroit when he became a free agent in 2016, signing a five-year, maximum-salary contract worth in excess of $127MM. However, the veteran big man has had to settle for deals worth the minimum or a little above it in recent years — his current two-year, $10MM pact with Philadelphia is his most lucrative contract since that max deal ended.
Appearing this week on Podcast P with Paul George (YouTube link), Drummond told his Sixers teammate that he regrets how he responded after earning that max deal with the Pistons.
“Once I got that max contract, I was like, ‘Oh s–t, my work is done. I did it. I made it here. Now I get to play however I want to play. I’m the best guy on my team, making the highest amount of money, so I get to have this leadership role,'” Drummond said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “I don’t think I did it the right way, because not only did I not understand that that could’ve been $100 million two or three or four or five times — I only got it once because I didn’t maximize that time of being the max guy.
“If I could go back, I would’ve done it completely differently. I would’ve been a lot more attentive to working on my game and becoming more than just the best rebounder in the league. I would’ve tried to add more different pieces to my game so that when the league changed, it wouldn’t have been so difficult for me to make the adjustment with the league too.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Nets guard Cam Thomas, who has been out since January 2 due to a left hamstring strain, has resumed on-court activities but isn’t taking contact yet, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez. Bridget Reilly of The New York Post has the story.
- Josh Hart believes his comments earlier this month about the Knicks needing to put aside “egos” and “agendas” were blown out of proportion and made it clear he wasn’t referring to any specific teammates, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “Y’all look too much into everything,” Hart said on Tuesday. “… I said something about egos and y’all took that and ran with it. To win, you have to have a team that don’t have egos. That’s why Boston won. They have a team that doesn’t have egos. You got Jrue Holiday that’s been an All-Star, All-Defense, All-NBA, max player. He don’t give a damn about scoring. So that’s the ego-less attitude that we have to have. There was no pinpointing somebody. But that’s what you have to have to win.”
- Tuesday’s 16-point victory over Orlando served as a glimpse at what the first half of the Raptors‘ season could’ve looked like if the team hadn’t had to deal with so many injuries, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. As Grange observes, reliable second-unit veterans like Kelly Olynyk and Bruce Brown – both of whom didn’t make their season debuts until December – played key roles in the win. Olynyk, who was an incredible +39 in 22 minutes, and Brown are both considered candidates to be moved at the trade deadline.
Suns Rumors: Butler, Nurkic, Durant, Beal
There was an “undeniable vibe” in Miami on Tuesday that the Suns‘ draft-pick trade with Utah moved Phoenix a step closer to potentially acquiring Jimmy Butler, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who say a source close to the process believes there’s a “real pathway” to a deal sending the Heat star to the Suns.
[RELATED: Likelihood Of Suns Acquiring Jimmy Butler Increasing?]
Still, sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking tell Stein and Fischer that the Suns made their deal with the Jazz – which sent out Phoenix’s 2031 first-round pick in exchange for three less valuable first-rounders – without a specific follow-up move lined up.
As Stein and Fischer write, while that trade puts the Suns in a better position to make a play for Butler, it also led to plenty of chatter around the league that the club was seeking more general flexibility. For instance, one of those first-round draft picks could be attached to Jusuf Nurkic to move off his contract and get something value in return.
One executive speculated that the Suns could keep the 2025 first-round pick they acquired from Utah (likely to be Cleveland’s pick at No. 30) and use it in June to trade back in the draft and acquire more future assets, like they did on draft night in 2024 when they moved down six spots from No. 22 to No. 28 and added three future second-rounders in the process.
For what it’s worth, John Hollinger of The Athletic expresses skepticism that the Suns don’t already have a plan in mind for a particular trade, arguing that you don’t make a move like that and then say, “Well, now maybe let’s see what we can do?” The Suns already know the answer to that question, according to Hollinger, who says Phoenix almost certainly made the move to meet a specific need conveyed by a potential trade partner.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- Within his story analyzing the Suns/Jazz trade, Hollinger lauds Phoenix’s front office for its creativity in continuing to find new ways to add draft assets using its limited tradable picks. However, he compares Tuesday’s deal to swapping out a dollar for three quarters and notes that the Suns likely won’t have more options to continue unearthing draft capital — since they project to be well into second-apron territory next season as well, their 2032 first-round pick will be frozen, ineligible to be included in a trade.
- The Heat have spoken to multiple teams about Butler, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link), but the Suns remain atop the 35-year-old’s list of preferred destinations and are expected to be “aggressive” in seeking roster upgrades between now and the February 6 trade deadline, Charania adds.
- Kevin Durant dismissed the idea that he might run out of gas in the second half of the season, telling Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, “I ain’t a regular 36-year-old. … How many people playing at this level at my age? So you can’t compare me to anybody who’ve burnt out. It could happen, but does it look like it right now?” Durant also said he’s not frustrated by the restrictions the Suns face under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement: “I’ve seen a lot of crazy s–t just happen in this league. You know, regardless of rules and CBA is put in place, these dudes get paid a lot of money to figure out ways and stuff like that. So it isn’t frustrating. I mean, we just added Nick (Richards), which is a good pickup.”
- Within that same Yahoo Sports story, Goodwill confirmed that there are whispers about the Bucks and Raptors potentially getting involved in a multi-team deal sending Butler to the Suns and added the Wizards to the list of clubs rumored to be possible facilitators in that scenario.
- Bradley Beal, who is still listed as questionable to play on Wednesday vs. Brooklyn due to a left ankle sprain, referred to the game as “a must-win for us,” per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Buford: No Timeline For Gregg Popovich’s Return To Spurs
After suffering a stroke in the fall, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is “attacking his rehab with the same resilience” that he has exhibited for decades on the team’s bench, team CEO R.C. Buford told reporters in Paris on Wednesday, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
While Buford isn’t ruling out the possibility that Popovich will resume his coaching duties for the Spurs later this season, he said it’s impossible to say for sure — or to project a recovery timeline for the longtime head coach, who will turn 76 next Tuesday.
“His improvement continues to get better, (but) I don’t know that we have any way to judge the clock,” Buford said. “Predicting what’s to come is just a function of where Pop’s rehab goes.”
Popovich initially stepped away from the Spurs in early November due to what was described at the time as a health issue. The club later put out a statement announcing that Popovich had suffered a mild stroke, and he subsequently issued a statement of his own in December that hinted he planned to return to the sidelines for the Spurs if and when his health allowed.
In the meantime, acting head coach Mitch Johnson continues to lead the club and has San Antonio within striking distance of a play-in spot at 19-22. According to Vardon, Johnson described his communication with Popovich as “consistent.”
“He is watching games, still as opinionated as he’s ever been, and competitive, and what you would think — giving praise and cussing me out, all at the same time,” Johnson said, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
“Pop’s health has been the priority since the start of this and until dot-dot-dot. That’s kind of how we, and I, take the approach. We want the best for Pop and I want the best for this team and however I can help is where I’ll put my energy.”
Chris Paul also said he remains in contact with Popovich, telling the media in Paris that the Spurs coach is in touch with players via phone.
“I’m not even sure if this is public, but he calls,” Paul said. “He calls after games and I talk to him, and he tells me what he sees, and I appreciate that more than anything because he doesn’t have to do that. And he does.”
As Vardon writes in a separate story for The Athletic, if Popovich were in France on the current road trip, he likely would have taken the Spurs out to a posh Paris restaurant for the sort of “wine-soaked” team dinner he’s known for. Instead, it was second-year star Victor Wembanyama who took the lead on that team dinner on Monday after the club arrived in his native country, per Vardon.
“We talked about it — Pop had a schedule here, and he would have done something like that too,” Wembanyama said. “Doing that on the first day was important for me to welcome (teammates) and to show them, because I know if I went to any of these guys’ country or city, I would have loved to find out about about where they come from to learn to know them better because they’re they’re all good human beings. So really, it’s a real chance to share these moments together.”
Lakers’ Vanderbilt Expected To Make Season Debut On Saturday
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been medically cleared to make his season debut on Saturday vs. Golden State and, barring any setbacks, will suit up in that game, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
A 2023 trade deadline acquisition, Vanderbilt has been an impactful role player for Los Angeles when healthy, providing strong, versatile defense and averaging 6.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 21.9 minutes per game. The Lakers, who had a +0.6 overall net rating last season, posted a +4.2 mark during Vanderbilt’s 581 minutes of action.
However, due to health issues, the forward has been limited to just 55 total appearances since he was traded from Utah to L.A., including 29 last season and zero so far in 2024/25. He hasn’t played in a game since February 1, 2024.
Vanderbilt underwent surgeries on both of his feet in the offseason and had a setback in his rehab process when he experienced a fluid build-up in his knee in December.
Vanderbilt is unlikely to be a difference-maker for the Lakers, especially since the team will likely be cautious with his usage following a layoff of nearly a full year. But if he stays healthy, he’ll give the club another defensive option on the wing against opponents’ top scorers.
A report earlier this week indicated that the Lakers are “cautiously optimistic” that they’ll get a better sense of their needs at the trade deadline after reintegrating Vanderbilt and seeing how his addition affects the rotation. The club’s two stars are reportedly hoping for an aggressive approach on the trade market.
LeBron, AD Want Lakers To Be Aggressive On Trade Market
With just 15 days left until the NBA’s 2025 trade deadline arrives, Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis are “growing concerned” about the team’s ability to make significant upgrades on the trade market, league sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link).
James and Davis believe the Lakers could be just a piece or two away from contending for a title and have expressed that they want the front office to make moves to try to add those pieces, according to Charania.
That lines up with reporting from Jovan Buha of The Athletic, who wrote on Tuesday that James and Davis favor an “all-in approach” on the trade market and noted that LeBron has “never valued draft picks.”
The Lakers, who currently rank sixth in the Western Conference at 23-18, have two tradable first-round picks available in 2029 and 2031. They also have a pair of 2025 second-rounders on hand (their own and the Clippers’), and could trade first-round pick swaps for up to three years (2026, 2028, and 2030).
The front office – led by executive VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka – has taken a relatively conservative approach at the trade deadline in recent years, opting against making any moves in 2021, 2022, and 2024. In 2023, the club gave up Russell Westbrook and a lightly protected first-round pick in order to land D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt — that deal helped propel them to a strong second-half finish and a spot in the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers, who already made one move last month for Dorian Finney-Smith, have done their due diligence in trade talks so far this season and are open to sending out one or both of their tradable first-round picks for players who would be both short- and long-term fits, Charania reports.
It’s unclear if there will be a difference-maker available that the Lakers will be able to attain using their limited assets, especially since a few of their potential salary-matching pieces – including Gabe Vincent and Vanderbilt – presumably have negative trade value.
Still, Charania suggests, given that many of the top seeds in the West this season are young teams with limited playoff experience, there’s a “perception of a wide-open league,” which could spur buyers to be more aggressive.
“Boston, OKC and Cleveland are who they are,” a high-ranking team official told ESPN. “But this is wide open.”
NBA Postpones Wednesday’s Bucks/Pelicans Game
The game scheduled to be played between the Bucks and Pelicans on Wednesday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans has been postponed due to “extreme weather conditions” in New Orleans, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
The league intends to announce a new date for the game at a later time.
New Orleans has received a rare winter storm this week, with snow blanketing the city and icy conditions affecting travel in the area.
Chris Haynes, who first reported (via Twitter) that the game between the Bucks and Pelicans would be postponed, notes that there’s concern about whether the Bucks will be able to depart New Orleans in time to get home to host the Heat on Thursday (Twitter link). The Pelicans’ next game is scheduled for Friday in Memphis.
The NBA had to postpone a handful of games earlier this month due to the wildfires in Los Angeles and extreme weather in Atlanta. Most of the new dates for those contests were announced last Wednesday, but the league has yet to confirm a rescheduled date for a Spurs/Lakers game that was postponed.
That game and this Bucks/Pelicans matchup will likely be among the next set of rescheduled contests announced by the NBA.
Danilo Gallinari Joining Puerto Rican Team
Veteran NBA forward Danilo Gallinari has a new team, announcing (via Twitter) that he has reached an agreement to join Vaqueros de Bayamón in Puerto Rico.
In a follow-up tweet, Gallinari suggests the deal includes the ability to opt out in the event of an NBA opportunity.
The No. 6 overall pick in the 2008 draft, Gallinari appeared in 777 total NBA regular season games for eight teams from 2008-24. He began his career with the Knicks before being sent to the Nuggets in the Carmelo Anthony blockbuster at the 2011 trade deadline.
While many of his best seasons came in Denver, where he averaged 16.2 points per game in over 300 regular season appearances, Gallinari later had productive years for the Clippers, Thunder, and Hawks as well. In 2023/24, after recovering from an ACL tear, the 6’10” forward spent time with the Wizards, Pistons, and Bucks, getting into 49 total games.
Gallinari, who is 36 years old and saw his mobility hampered following the ACL injury, went unsigned this past summer and may have played in his last NBA game.
A former Italian League MVP who has represented his home country in previous international competitions, Gallinari added in a third tweet that he’s “ready to wear the Italian jersey for one last great European adventure” and hopes for a “great ending.”
As BasketNews.com observes, while Gallinari didn’t say it outright, those remarks suggest he may be considering retiring after suiting up for the Italian national team one more time in the 2025 EuroBasket tournament.