New York Notes: Bridges, Knicks, Marks, Johnson
Knicks forward Mikal Bridges‘ first year in New York continues to be somewhat up and down. As Andrew Crane of The New York Post observes, the former All-Defensive Teamer went scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting from the floor in a lopsided recent 126-101 Friday defeat to the Thunder.
“I just gotta make them,” Bridges said of his shooting woes. “I think I’m just short on a lot of them probably these past couple games. I just gotta put a little more lift probably on it.”
Across his last three contests, Bridges has shot just 6-of-32 from the floor.
On the season, the 6’6″ wing is averaging 17.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game, all solid stats. He’s connecting on a just-mediocre 33.2% of his 6.8 three-point attempts per night, however. That represents a career-worst, and Bridges’ first time below 36% since his 2018/19 rookie season.
There’s more out of the Big Apple:
- The Knicks obliterated Milwaukee, 140-106, on Sunday, but a happy victory hardly erases New York’s recent slump, opines Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscriber link). The team has gone 2-4 across its last six contests, a brutal stretch to follow up a nine-game win streak. Bridges’ recent shooting issues have been a concern, while All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns missed one of those losses with an injury. But it’s tough to excuse the team’s middling effort in its recent blowout loss to Oklahoma City, Vaccaro opines.
- Nets general manager Sean Marks is angling to capitalize on what’s expected to be a starry 2025 draft class, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Part of that goal includes prioritizing the future over the present, be that trading away veterans or thinking longer-term and not necessarily looking to win games now. Since opening night, Brooklyn has already dealt away veterans Dennis Schröder, Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton in the interest of draft equity and future cap space. “We’re going to have to be systematic with some of the decisions we make,” Marks told Lewis. “And they may not always be in line with winning the next game or putting the most talent out there.” For now, the 13-25 Nets have the sixth-worst record in the league, and thus the sixth-best lottery odds. “To be frank, you’ve still got to get a little lucky,” Marks said. “The hot-button topic has always been the draft. We all know we’ve still got to get lucky. At the end of the day, the Ping-Pong balls are going to drop a certain way.”
- While there has been some speculation that the Grizzlies could emerge as a real trade bidder for Nets forward Cameron Johnson, Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal remains somewhat dubious, tweeting that the two sides have yet to engage in significant talks with regard to a Johnson trade.
Bulls Notes: Ball, Dosunmu, DeRozan, Karnisovas
In a narrow 124-119 loss to Sacramento on Sunday, Bulls guard Lonzo Ball made his first start since January 14, 2022. As Kyle Williams of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, a grateful Ball – who started all 35 of his outings in 2021/22 in his first year with the Bulls was happy for the opportunity to at least temporarily reclaim that role.
“[I’m] thankful for everybody that stuck with me, appreciative of the organization for riding with me the whole way and just seeing it all come full circle,” Ball said.
The UCLA alum underwent three surgeries to repair a meniscus issue in his knee and missed the two-and-a-half seasons. This season, Ball had previously only played under a minutes restriction off the bench.
Across 26 minutes of action on Sunday as a starter, Ball scored 15 points and handed out three assists. Starter Coby White was sidelined with a neck injury.
“Whatever you need from him, he’s always ready to play,’’ Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said of Ball.
There’s more out of the Windy City:
- Bulls sixth man guard Ayo Dosunmu, who if healthy would have started over Ball, has been sidelined since December 23 with a calf injury. According to Williams, Dosunmu continues to rehab the ailment and inch closer towards an on-court return. ‘‘We’ve gotten a really good response from the ramp-up,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘There’s a few more days they want to continue on that, just to see how he responds. With some of the hurdles we’ve wanted him to cross, he’s responded pretty well.’’
- Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan reflected on the end of his three-year Bulls run during his first game back in Chicago on Sunday, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. The six-time All-Star unpacked how things ended between him and the Bulls last summer, when he ultimately agreed to join Sacramento on a three-year, $73.9MM deal via sign-and-trade. “Sometimes the way the business of basketball works, a lot of stuff becomes out of both sides’ control,” DeRozan said. “But with that, just got to appreciate the time that was spent there. I gave it my all, all three years.” With the victory Sunday, DeRozan’s Kings won their seventh straight game. Sacramento is now 7-1 under interim head coach Doug Christie.
- The next few weeks ahead of the February 6 NBA trade deadline could ultimately either make or break Bulls team president Arturas Karnisovas’ stint leading the front office, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. At 18-21, Chicago occupies the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference, two games ahead of Philadelphia for the last play-in tournament spot. The team boasts several veteran players on tradable contracts and has a limited ceiling with its current roster. Poe notes that Karnisovas remaining relatively inactive at a critical transaction point once again would represent a potentially disastrous approach for Chicago. The Bulls haven’t made the playoffs in two years and appear unlikely to break through this season. That said, they will not have their own draft pick this summer if it falls outside the top 10, so it may behoove them to get worse in a hurry. Poe writes that the team hasn’t had significant talks about offloading former two-time All-Stars Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, and is reportedly open to trading anyone on its roster. White and Dosunmu, two solid young players on reasonable deals, have surprisingly not received much trade interest yet, per Poe.
Magic Notes: Banchero, Da Silva, Suggs
Magic All-Star forward Paolo Banchero hit the ground running in his first game back from a two-month injury absence, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.
During a 109-106 defeat to Milwaukee on Friday, the 6’10” star scored 34 points in just 27 minutes, showing off a versatile offensive attack that included five three-pointers. Banchero had been shelved with a torn right abdominal muscle since an October 30 loss to Chicago.
“The kid’s been working his tail off to get back in,” Orlando head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “What he was able to do with poise, taking the right shots [at] the right time, defending, taking matchups on, this tells you how much he wants to go get it and get after it.
There’s more out of Orlando:
- Rookie Magic forward Tristan da Silva, who thrived with Banchero sidelined, continued to play strongly even when the All-Star returned to action, Beede notes in another piece. Da Silva secured the first double-double of his career in the Bucks bout, scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 boards. “He’s just a natural,” Banchero raved of da Silva. “He can kind of fit out there with anybody, any lineup.”
- Mosley provided a minor update on the health of Jalen Suggs on Sunday, including explaining why the injured guard has been away from the Magic‘s bench for the past couple games, Beede tweets. “I think it’s one of those things [that’s] precautionary more than anything,” Mosley said. “With the back [injury], sitting on the bench is not necessarily conducive to how you’re supposed to feel in that scenario… He’s been able to move a little bit here and there on the floor, getting up and getting down a little bit, but nothing with contact.”
- In case you missed it, Marc Stein believes Mosley has a real shot at earning Coach of the Year honors. Even with long-term injury absences of Banchero and Franz Wagner, among others, Orlando has held steady as a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.
NBA Plans To Resume Los Angeles Games Monday
The NBA has told its two Los Angeles-based teams, the Clippers and Lakers, that it plans to permit Monday’s scheduled home games for each club to go on as planned, per Mark Medina of Sportskeeda and Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter links).
The Heat are slated to square off against the Clippers at Intuit Dome, while the Lakers are set to face the Spurs at Crypto.com Arena.
The Lakers have had two contests postponed due to historic wildfires in Los Angeles and the greater Southern California area, while the Clippers’ Saturday tilt against the Hornets was postponed.
The plan to move forward with Monday’s game remains subject to change depending on what happens in the next 24 hours. Los Angeles is expected to experience hazardous wind conditions — which could cultivate further wildfire activity — through Wednesday of this coming week.
For now though, the NBA is confident that the games won’t divert emergency resources from the wildfire response efforts, as Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
Another game this week, a matchup between Houston and Atlanta initially set for Saturday afternoon, was also postponed due to weather. The Atlanta area has been hit with atypical levels of snow, causing dangerous driving conditions.
Pacific Notes: Fox, Kings, Warriors, O’Neale
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox is available to play on Sunday against Chicago, tweets Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee.
Fox, who last suited up on January 3, rejoins a red-hot Sacramento squad that has won six straight games in total, including the past three without him. James Ham of The Kings Beat considers whether the team’s recent run of success is sustainable.
Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- The Kings are spending far less time scrimmaging so far under new head coach Doug Christie, which has been well received by the players, Biderman writes for the Sacramento Bee. “Talking to some of the guys who play heavier minutes, they definitely feel more fresh to start games,” Kings sharpshooter Kevin Huerter said. “I think even mentally, just the grind of the season, we’re already in January, and you get to this point in the season, you play a lot of games. As much as it’s a physical grind, it’s a mental grind. Being halfway there and needing every win, in some ways we pump the brakes a little bit, but still trusting us to get our work in.”
- After missing games on Thursday and Friday for personal reasons, Andrew Wiggins will be back in action for the Warriors on Monday in Toronto, head coach Steve Kerr told reporters today (Twitter link via Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN). Stephen Curry and Draymond Green practiced on Sunday and are also set to return on Monday after sitting out Friday, while Gary Payton II (calf strain) is listed as questionable to play for the first time since Christmas Day. Brandin Podziemski (right abdominal injury) will remain out, Kerr said.
- Suns forward Royce O’Neale (left ankle sprain) appears on track to return from a six-game absence on Sunday vs. Charlotte. He has been upgraded to probable, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic.
Stein’s Latest: Nets, Butler, Giannis, Suns, Nembhard, Coaches
The Nets are the only NBA team projected to have maximum-salary cap room during the 2025 offseason, but they have no plans to pursue Heat forward Jimmy Butler, who could be the biggest free agent on the market next summer, reports Marc Stein in his latest Substack article.
According to Stein, despite their impressive cap flexibility and stash of future draft assets, the Nets aren’t necessarily locked in on the idea of pursuing a star via trade or in free agency over the summer — if no favorable opportunities to land a star arise, they may simply be patient and continue building through the draft.
On the other hand, if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to become available, that would substantially alter the Nets’ plans, according to Stein, who says rumblings around the NBA suggest the Bucks forward would be Brooklyn’s “dream target” and that the Nets would make a push for him if Milwaukee were willing to trade him. That’s probably a long shot this year though, since have been no indications the Bucks would ever consider moving Antetokounmpo unless he specifically asked for it.
Here’s more from Stein:
- Stein is the latest reporter to confirm that there’s strong mutual interest between the Suns and Butler. “I’ve heard they want him bad,” one league source told Stein. Still, until Phoenix can find a taker for Bradley Beal and get Beal to sign off on that destination, the Suns don’t have a path to acquiring the Heat forward.
- Andrew Nembhard would be an ideal target for a team facing apron restrictions due to his $2.02MM cap hit, his long-term team control, and his lack of poison pill restrictions following his extension. However, Stein says the Pacers guard is considered one of the most valuable assets on Indiana’s roster and is viewed as essentially “off-limits” in trade talks.
- Taking an early look at the Coach of the Year race, Stein describes Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers as the clear favorite and says he’d fill out his hypothetical ballot with Jamahl Mosley of the Magic at No. 2 and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons at No. 3. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka earns an honorable mention.
Suns, Hornets Have Discussed Nick Richards, Jusuf Nurkic
The Suns and Hornets have had discussions about the idea of a trade that would send Jusuf Nurkic and draft capital to Charlotte and Nick Richards to Phoenix, confirms John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter links). The talks, described as “ongoing” by Gambadoro, were first reported by Evan Sidery of Forbes (Twitter link), who referred to them as “preliminary.”
Nurkic has fallen out of the rotation in Phoenix. After serving as the Suns’ starting center for most of the season, he came off the bench on Monday and Tuesday, then was a DNP-CD in Thursday’s and Saturday’s games. The veteran big man is known to be on the trade block, but his $18.13MM salary this season and a guaranteed $19.38MM salary for next season will make it difficult to move him.
Richards is a younger, more versatile center whose contract is also far more team-friendly than Nurkic’s — the Hornets’ big man is owed $5MM this season and another $5MM in 2025/26. He has averaged 9.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 21.2 minutes per game through 20 games this season.
Given the disparity between the two players’ salaries, the Hornets would have to send out at least one more player (earning at least $5.63MM) to make a trade legal. The Suns would likely prefer Cody Martin ($8.12MM), a versatile wing who is having a solid bounce-back year after a couple injury-plagued seasons, while Charlotte may want to include veteran point guard Vasilije Micic ($7.72MM), the former EuroLeague MVP who has struggled with his shot since making the move to the NBA in 2023.
Both Martin and Micic have one more year of team control beyond this season, but neither player’s 2025/26 salary is guaranteed at this point. The same goes for Richards.
The Suns, who are facing second-apron restrictions, could also legally acquire Grant Williams ($13.03MM) or Josh Green ($12.65MM) along with Richards in exchange for Nurkic, though Williams is out for the season following knee surgery. Both he and Green have two more guaranteed years on their contracts after this season.
Phoenix currently has three tradable second-round picks: Denver’s 2026 and 2031 picks and the Suns’ own 2031 second-rounder. Even if the Suns were willing to include all three of those picks, it’s unclear whether the Hornets would have the appetite to take on Nurkic, whose sizable guaranteed salary would significantly reduce their flexibility in ’25/26 — especially if Charlotte can’t get out of a multiyear deal of its own in the process.
As we wrote earlier today in a Front Office article, the Hornets have several potential trade chips who are earning mid-level money or less, which could make them an intriguing trade partner for a team facing apron-related restrictions. The Suns wouldn’t be able to trade Nurkic for a player earning more than his $18.13MM salary, but could potentially acquire multiple rotation-caliber players from Charlotte if they’re able to sufficiently sweeten the pot with draft assets.
Cap Observations: Bucks/Apron, Hornets’ Trade Chips, Nets’ Cap Room
It hasn't exactly been a quiet start to 2025 on the NBA rumor mill, as Jimmy Butler's trade request has led to plenty of speculation about where the Heat star could land and how a potential deal could impact the rest of the market. But it may still be a couple more weeks before the in-season trade market truly heats up ahead of the February 6 deadline.
In the meantime, we're taking a closer look at a handful of cap-related topics that have been on our minds, including a scenario in which the Bucks aren't subject to second-apron restrictions, an under-the-radar team to watch as a deadline seller, and why cap room projections for the Nets are a little all over the place.
Let's dive in...
Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon To Return On Sunday
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon is expected to make his return to action on Sunday in Dallas, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter video link).
Gordon has been sidelined since Christmas Day, having missed Denver’ past nine games due to a right calf strain. The injury was an aggravation of a strain he suffered in the same calf earlier in the season — that ailment cost him 10 games in November.
As we noted earlier today, Gordon was upgraded to doubtful for Friday’s game vs. Brooklyn before being ruled out, then was listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest against the Mavericks.
A key part of Denver’s starting lineup, Gordon has been his usual effective self when he has been healthy this season, averaging 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 28.8 minutes per game across 17 outings (16 starts). He has also made 52.3% of his shots from the field, including 44.0% of his three-pointers.
The Nuggets have a +8.0 net rating during Gordon’s 489 minutes so far this season; that marks dips to +2.4 when he’s not on the floor.
Russell Westbrook has replaced Gordon in the starting lineup over the past nine games. It’s unclear if Gordon will immediately reclaim his spot — following his 10-game absence in November, he came off the bench in his return before starting his second game back.
Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, Jovic, Highsmith
When the Heat announced that they’d suspended Jimmy Butler for seven games, they explained the decision by stating that the veteran forward had engaged in “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.” However, Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source close to the situation that the club at one point sought to suspend Butler for a “failure to render services.”
The difference wouldn’t have just been a matter of semantics. As Winderman outlines, a standard suspension for conduct detrimental to the team costs a player 1/145th of his full-season salary per game. In Butler’s case, that works out to $2,355,798 over seven games. However, when a player is suspended for a failure to render services, it costs him 1/91.6th of his salary per game — that would’ve resulted in $3,729,157 in lost salary for the 35-year-old.
Based on Winderman’s reporting, it’s unclear whether the Heat reconsidered taking that route or were prevented from doing so — it presumably would’ve required the club to prove that Butler, who had been playing in games leading up to the suspension, had refused to render the services required by his contract.
Hours after the Heat initially announced the seven-game ban, the National Basketball Players Association put out a statement indicating it intended to file a grievance. It’s safe to assume the NBPA’s objections to the suspension would’ve been even more vociferous if the team had accused Butler of a failure to render services and attempted to recoup more of his salary.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- After suffering demoralizing losses to Utah and Sacramento in the first two games of Butler’s suspension, the Heat have righted the ship, beating Portland on Saturday for their third straight victory. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald points out, two players who were believed to be part of Miami’s 2023 trade offer for then-Blazers guard Damian Lillard led the way in the victory, as Tyler Herro scored a game-high 32 points and Nikola Jovic contributed a personal season-high of 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. “I like his improvement,” head coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jovic. “He’s playing with more consistency. He’s preparing with more consistency.”
- Jackson notes within the same Herald story that starting Haywood Highsmith at power forward has been a winning formula for Miami this season — the club is 17-11 when he starts and just 3-6 when he doesn’t. “He was great tonight,” Spoelstra said after Satuday’s win. “He gives us, when he’s at his best, point of attack defense, harassing other teams’ better guards and wing players. It’s a thankless job except in our locker room.” Highsmith re-signed with the Heat as an unrestricted free agent during the 2024 offseason on a two-year, $10.8MM deal.
- Road wins in Golden State, Utah, and Portland this week show that the Heat aren’t unraveling without Butler, Jackson writes in a separate article for The Miami Herald. Highsmith told reporters that “the vibes are great,” while Herro said the club has rediscovered its identity. “Just rallying around each other, making it about the guys that are here now, the guys that are in this locker room,” Herro said. “We’ve got enough, and that’s all that matters. This is what we wanted to get back on the road, get away from all the chaos and come out here and compete and get back to who we are and get to our identity.”
- The Lakers‘ and Clippers‘ home games on Saturday were postponed due to the wildfires in the Los Angeles area, but the Heat flew to L.A. on Saturday and are expecting for now to play the Clippers on Monday and Lakers on Wednesday, says Jackson.