Injury Notes: Doncic, R. Williams, Leonard, Jones, Heat, Wade
After missing the past two games with a left heel contusion, Luka Doncic was upgraded to available for Monday’s contest vs. Portland, the Mavericks announced (via Twitter). The perennial All-NBA guard had previously been listed as questionable.
For the same game, big man Robert Williams was ruled out due to a left ankle sprain, per the Trail Blazers (Twitter link). Williams was questionable this afternoon, so his latest injury doesn’t appear to be anything significant.
Here are some more injury notes from around the NBA:
- A Clippers source tells Law Murray of The Athletic that Kawhi Leonard (right knee) will not suit up for Friday’s contest vs. Golden State (Twitter link). Murray predicted last week that Leonard, who has been going through contact practices and recently traveled on a three-game road trip, would play on Friday, but his season debut will be delayed by at least one more game.
- Although they won’t have Leonard back yet, the Clippers did receive some good injury news last week, as Derrick Jones returned early from a right hamstring strain, Murray writes for The Athletic. The 27-year-old forward made an immediate impact against his former team, helping Los Angeles defeat Dallas on Thursday. “Derrick was a big part of our success last year,” Mavs head coach Jason Kidd said. “He was the last to sign with us … he made us a little bit more athletic. He could guard one through five. He shot the three well for us. And he’s a pro. He comes to work every day to do his job. We’re happy for his new contract. Unfortunately, he’s on the other side. But the Clippers got a pro.”
- The Heat were shorthanded on Monday vs. Brooklyn, with Jimmy Butler (stomach illness) missing his second straight game and Josh Richardson (right heel inflammation) missing his fifth, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald relays. Terry Rozier was a late addition to Monday’s injury report after experiencing left knee inflammation, his first absence with that injury, Chiang adds.
- Forward Dean Wade experienced some soreness after taking knee-to-knee contact in Saturday’s contest vs. Philadelphia and the Cavaliers decided to be cautious and keep him out of Monday’s contest against Utah, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Wade is expected to return for Friday’s contest vs. Denver, Cleveland’s next game, sources tell Fedor. Sam Merrill started in place of Wade, who himself was an injury replacement for Isaac Okoro (shoulder sprain).
Central Notes: Bucks, Pacers, Bulls, Smart, Beasley, Cunningham
The Bucks have ruled out both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for Monday’s game vs. Chicago due to a non-COVID illness, as Jamal Collier of ESPN relays.
According to Collier, several of Milwaukee’s players and staff members have been feeling sick since winning the NBA Cup final last Tuesday. Lillard missed a pair of games over the weekend due to a right calf injury and was previously doubtful heading into Monday’s game with that ailment, while Antetokounmpo was out for Saturday’s back-to-back and was questionable prior to Monday’s contest with back spasms.
In an unrelated story, Antetokounmpo acknowledged he’s at a loss as to why the Bucks aren’t playing on Christmas for the first time in seven seasons, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. The former Finals MVP said he was “little bit upset or kind of questioning it” in part because 10 other teams received the invitation, while Milwaukee did not.
“There’s gotta be an algorithm because if it’s — how can I say — like a popularity contest, I can give you facts,” Antetokounmpo said. “You want me to? Two of the NBA All-Star starters, Dame and Giannis, and the All-Star MVP, right? And the No. 1 vote-getter — not in the East, in the whole NBA — is not in the Christmas game? What? No, it’s a fact.
“The votes came out last year. I was the No. 1. Dame was a starter. I was a starter. Dame won the MVP. Dame won the three-point contest. Maybe that has nothing to do with it. I believe we were one of the best teams in the East last year. Maybe not this year, OK. We don’t get a Christmas game. Why? Because we got a small market? Maybe that’s the case. Or I want to believe what I tell you, I think there’s an algorithm within the NBA that they choose which team will get the most attention, the most viewership that day.”
While Antetokounmpo said he was “pissed” he wouldn’t be competing on a marquee day, he and many other Bucks also said they’re happy they get to spend the holiday with their families, according to Nehm.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers dominated the Kings in Sacramento on Sunday en route to their fourth straight victory, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Veteran point guard T.J. McConnell said the team never splintered in the face of adversity — Indiana has had to a sluggish start to the season and is still just 14-15. “I really like how everyone in here didn’t hit the panic button while everyone else was,” McConnell said. “I feel like people don’t realize last year, at one point we were 14-14. Long season. Obviously, we didn’t start the way we wanted to. We went on a couple losing streaks, but we’re well coached. That’s kept us together and we have a really together group. Everyone is for everyone in here. In the NBA, that’s all you can ask for.” According to Dopirak, many Pacers, including McConnell, noted that injuries to Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard and Aaron Nesmith have hurt the team. Nembhard and Sheppard have returned, improving the perimeter defense and offensive spacing, while Nesmith continues to be sidelined with an ankle injury. Although it’s obviously a positive that the Pacers have rebounded, they’ll be challenged by a difficult schedule — including a home-road back-to-back against Oklahoma City and Boston — over their next four games, Dopirak observes.
- The Bulls have been better than expected to this point, currently holding a 13-16 record. Star guard Zach LaVine and head coach Billy Donovan have made it clear the players and coaches have no plan of tanking. That means the front office will play an important role if the team hopes to retain its top-10 protected first-round pick, and a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley still have “full autonomy” to change the roster ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Based on his wording, it’s unclear whom the Grizzlies might be interested in out of LaVine or Nikola Vucevic, but Cowley says Memphis “would love” to shed Marcus Smart‘s salary, noting the former Defensive Player of the Year has played sporadic minutes of late. However, Cowley states that Chicago doesn’t want to take on multiyear contracts unless it receives draft compensation in return — Smart makes $20.2MM in 2024/25, followed by $21.6MM in ’25/26. For what it’s worth, Vucevic is a near-perfect salary match ($20MM in ’24/25, $21.5MM in ’25/26).
- Malik Beasley is on pace to break the Pistons‘ single-season record for three-pointers made and his outside shooting has opened up driving and passing lanes for reigning East Player of the Week Cade Cunningham, per Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press. The Pistons have been very effective (+6.8) when the two players share the court together, Sankofa adds. “It’s really just understanding each other’s games, understanding where our spots are,” Cunningham said. “We play so well off of each other. He gives me an outlet so many times whenever guys send more at me, and for me, I think he loves playing with me because I throw it over to him. It’s just about building that relationship on and off the court and continuing to grow.” Beasley, 28, will be an unrestricted free agent next offseason after signing a one-year, $6MM deal with Detroit last summer.
Knicks Notes: Cap Situation, Starting Five, Hart, Anunoby
After waiving Matt Ryan and signing Landry Shamet, the Knicks are operating approximately $535K below their hard cap for the 2024/25 season.
Ryan will count toward the cap for $621,439 in dead money, while Shamet’s new cap hit is $1,343,690, though he’ll technically earn $1,682,008 if he remains under contract beyond January 7 on his minimum-salary deal (or if it’s already fully guaranteed, which has not been confirmed).
Due to that small gap between their team salary and the second tax apron, New York will be unable to fill their 15th roster spot until later in the season, once the prorated veteran’s minimum dips low enough to fit below the hard cap.
Their cap situation could change if they continue to swap players in and out of that 14th spot, if they sign anyone to a 10-day contract, or if they make an in-season trade. But based on their current team salary, the Knicks would be able to add a veteran as a 15th man as of March 1, when the cap hit for a prorated minimum deal would be $527,878.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Good injury luck – along with an aversion to load management – has allowed the Knicks to establish cohesion with their new-look starting lineup, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The team’s five starters have missed a total of just three games (two for Karl-Anthony Towns and one for Josh Hart) and the group has played a league-leading 459 minutes together, posting a +7.0 net rating. Only two other five-man lineups around the NBA have logged more than 250 minutes so far this season.
- While the Knicks were in New Orleans over the weekend for a game against the Pelicans, Hart credited his former head coach Willie Green for “changing the trajectory” of his career. Hart was a Pelican when Green took over as the team’s coach in 2021. “He was my third coach in three years,” Hart said, according to Bondy. “Coming off Stan (Van Gundy), where I probably had one of the worst years of my career. And Willie just kind of believed in me. I didn’t want to come back (to New Orleans), but I talked to him and we got on the same page at the beginning of that year. … He trusted in me as a player, but more so as a person. And that really gained my confidence. … He changed things for me.”
- The Knicks raised eyebrows over the offseason when they re-signed OG Anunoby to a five-year deal worth $212.5MM, the most total guaranteed money any team committed to a free agent in 2024. But Anunoby is rewarding the team’s belief in him so far — he hasn’t missed a game this season, has increased his scoring averaged to 16.6 points per game, and – as Steve Popper of Newsday writes – has continued to play his usual form of lock-down defense. “I know OG puts a lot of guys in jail,” Hart said on Saturday. “He’s someone we’re good with putting him on the island with whoever, big or small, and he’s going to change shots. I don’t understand how he does half of it. … He’s a monster to a defense all by himself and he should be a first-team or second-team All-Defense for sure. We’re comfortable with that matchup against him and anybody.”
Anthony Edwards Fined $75K By NBA
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards has been fined $75K by the NBA for public criticism of the officiating and using inappropriate and profane language, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Following Saturday’s loss to Golden State, Edwards dedicated his post-game media session to discussing the officiating, as Dane Moore of Blue Wire Pods relayed (Twitter video link).
“F—ing terrible. All of them, besides the woman. The other two dudes, terrible,” Edwards said. “Excuses (for) the reason they call a foul, the reason they don’t call a foul, the s–t was terrible. They don’t want to talk back to my coach. They don’t want to talk back to me. I said one thing to the ref and he gave me a tech. Motherf—er told one of my teammates if I would’ve said, ‘Y’all calling a bad foul,’ he wouldn’t have gave me a tech.
“… They’re just sensitive and they’re terrible. They penalize me and (Julius Randle) for being stronger than our opponent every night. We don’t get no calls.”
While Edwards said he has had issues with the officiating all season, he made it clear he felt it was worse than usual in Saturday’s game vs. the Warriors.
“Tonight was bad,” he said. “(Golden State) was getting ticky-tack fouls and we weren’t getting nothing.”
Edwards was fined $25K by the league two weeks ago for using profane language in a post-game interview. He was also hit with a $35K fine last month for giving a Kings fan in Sacramento the middle finger.
Victor Wembanyama, Cade Cunningham Named Players Of The Week
A pair of former No. 1 overall picks have been named the NBA’s Players of the Week. Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama has claimed the award for the Western Conference, while Pistons guard Cade Cunningham won it in the Eastern Conference, the league announced today (via Twitter).
Due to the NBA Cup scheduling, Wembanyama and the Spurs only played two games during the week of December 16-22, but the reigning Rookie of the Year was absolutely dominant in those two outings, averaging 36.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and an eye-popping 7.0 blocks in 33.5 minutes per contest.
Wembanyama posted a shooting line of .525/.478/.826 in wins over Atlanta and Portland and matched a career high with 10 blocked shots in a historic performance against the Blazers on Saturday.
Cunningham’s Pistons enjoyed a 2-1 week, with victories over Miami and Phoenix. The fourth-year point guard averaged 27.0 points, 12.7 assists, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 39.0 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .492/.409/.778. He had a 20-point, 18-assist, 11-rebound triple-double against the Heat last Monday.
Wembanyama beat out fellow nominees Dillon Brooks, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Clippers teammates James Harden and Norman Powell to earn the first Western Conference Player of the Week award of his career, per the NBA (Twitter link).
It’s also the first time in Cunningham’s career that he has been named the East’s Player of the Week. The other nominees for the honor were Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Evan Mobley, Pascal Siakam and Jayson Tatum.
T.J. Warren, Jahlil Okafor Headline NBAGL All-Showcase Team
The NBA G League has announced (via Twitter) a five-man All-Showcase Team following its 2024 Winter Showcase in Orlando, which wrapped up in Sunday. The standout players recognized by the NBAGL are as follows:
- Josh Christopher (Sioux Falls Skyforce)
- Leonard Miller (Iowa Wolves)
- Jahlil Okafor (Indiana Mad Ants)
- T.J. Warren (Westchester Knicks)
- Jahmir Young (Grand Rapids Gold)
The event, which was the culmination of the G League’s fall Tip-Off Tournament, included an eight-team, single-elimination bracket made up of the top finishers in the Tip-Off Tournament. Those eight clubs were vying for the Showcase Cup, with the league’s other 22 teams each playing a pair of non-tournaments from Thursday to Sunday.
Warren’s Knicks defeated Christopher’s Skyforce in the Showcase Cup final, with Warren averaging 22.7 points per game on 54.8% shooting in Westchester’s three victories. The veteran forward had 24 points and four assists in Sunday’s championship game.
Four of the five players named to the All-Showcase Team were in the Showcase Cup bracket. The only exception was Okafor, who averaged 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game on 66.7% shooting in a pair of non-tournament victories for the Pacers‘ affiliate.
While Miller is on a standard NBA contract with the Timberwolves and Christopher is on a two-way deal with the Heat, Warren, Okafor, and Young aren’t currently controlled by NBA teams and could be freely signed by one at any time. Their performances over the weekend in front of scouts and executives should help strengthen their cases for NBA promotions, especially once the 10-day contract window opens in January.
Warren and Okafor are NBA veterans who each have several years of experience in the league, whereas Young is an undrafted rookie who was in camp with the Nuggets in the fall. The former Maryland standout had 22 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds in Grand Rapids’ win over the OKC Blue on Thursday, then put up 28 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals in a losing effort to Westchester on Saturday.
Heat Notes: Ware, Butler, Christopher, Adebayo
Kel’el Ware was impressive on Saturday night in his first game action in nearly a month, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. With Kevin Love unavailable for personal reasons, the rookie center came off the Heat bench to deliver eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes. Coach Erik Spoelstra said the performance was a result of the work Ware has been putting in since the start of training camp.
“He has been doing what he needs to do,” Spoelstra said. “This is what I really respect about what he’s done so far as a young player. He has not gotten caught up in anything other than daily improvement, which is hard to do if you’re not necessarily playing every single game. But you commit to the process, you commit to the work in the weight room, pre-practice, film sessions, all the things. Young players sometimes can think we’re a little bit crazy with all of that, and he hasn’t. He’s embraced all of it. So it’s going to happen for him.”
One good game won’t guarantee more playing time for Ware, but there’s a greater opportunity after Miami traded backup center Thomas Bryant to Indiana. While Ware has a large learning curve as a 20-year-old on a veteran team, Chiang notes that he has impressed his teammates with his approach to the game.
“He has really fit in with us well because he just continues to work hard,” Love said. “He listens to every single one of us, he wants to apply things that are taught to him both on and off the floor. He has really just continued to chase the game.”
There’s more from Miami:
- It’s appearing more likely that Jimmy Butler will finish out the season in Miami, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN. Talking with NBA executives at the G League Showcase, Marks cited a “growing consensus” that the Heat will hold onto Butler past the deadline unless he becomes a distraction or they receive an offer that’s too good to pass up.
- Josh Christopher hasn’t gotten into an NBA game since signing a two-way contract with the Heat, but he’s already competed for championships during Summer League and at the G League Showcase, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Christopher scored 31 points on Sunday, his 13th straight game of 20 or more, as Sioux Falls fell to Westchester. That came after leading the Summer League team to a title in Las Vegas. “Just trying to be a sponge and not take the opportunity for granted,” Christopher said, “but just take advantage of it and learn as much as I can, and use the minutes as an opportunity just to grow and help win ball games.”
- The Heat are still reeling after letting a late 22-point lead slip away in Saturday’s game at Orlando, Chiang adds in a separate story. Miami was outscored 37-8 in the fourth quarter while suffering its most frustrating loss of the season. “I feel like we relaxed because we were up,” Bam Adebayo said. “I feel like that’s the karma of the game. You relax and then you let a team get hot, and then it goes the other way and you’re trying to fight back.”
Kings Notes: Losing Streak, Lineup Changes, Brown, Fox
Kings fans loudly expressed their displeasure Sunday night as the team suffered a 27-point blowout against Indiana that marked its fourth straight loss at home, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Amid pressure to shake up the roster, Sacramento matched its longest losing streak of the season and is in danger of slipping out of the playoff race at 13-17.
“You never want to get booed at home, but we probably deserve it,” Kevin Huerter said. “We just lost three in a row and then you get beat by 30 on your home court during Christmas time. (The fans) deserve better.”
The Kings were hoping to be contenders after adding DeMar DeRozan to an already impressive array of offensive talent. But DeRozan’s frustrating night — scoring just two points while shooting 1-of-7 from the field — has been emblematic of the season-long struggle to mesh everyone together. Malik Monk cited memories of his time with the Lakers when they missed the playoffs despite a talented roster.
“Not playing together, like we’ve been doing all season,” Monk said in explaining Sunday’s loss. “We’ll have a great half and then we’ll go back to one-pass shots, no-pass shots. We’ve just got to continue to move the ball.”
There’s more from Sacramento:
- The crowd started chanting for Keon Ellis after the Kings fell behind by 12 points early in the second half, and that’s one of the options coach Mike Brown will consider as he tries to reconfigure his rotation, Anderson adds. Brown told reporters that Ellis, Doug McDermott, Trey Lyles and Isaac Jones might get more playing time. “I’m going to keep searching it,” Brown said. “I was searching a little tonight. We hadn’t shot the ball well the last few games from the three-point line. We did three games ago when Doug got some good minutes. He helped space the floor and we ended up scoring 120-something points against Denver, so I gave him an opportunity tonight, but if somebody new steps in and gets an opportunity like Trey at the five and Doug on the floor, that probably means somebody is going to be out. Tonight, that was Isaac and Keon. Those guys have been playing for us as of late, but they were out tonight just because the minutes aren’t there.” The Kings have a +8.9 net rating in Ellis’ 564 minutes on the court this season and a -2.5 mark in the 891 minutes he hasn’t played.
- Brown stressed the need for togetherness throughout the organization following Saturday’s loss to the Lakers, Anderson states in a separate story. Citing a “bunker mentality,” he talked about the commitment that runs from ownership through the front office to the coaching staff. “It always has to be a collective effort,” Brown said. “One of the things I said when I first got the job here is we have to have an alignment vertically and horizontally. Not just during good times, not just when I first got here or when change happens, but you have to do it and it’s even more evident when you hit a little adversity. If that alignment is truly in place and people truly believe, then it’s easy to go through adversity.”
- De’Aaron Fox said the Kings needs to find the right mindset to turn their season around, Anderson adds in another piece. “You have to enjoy playing the game period, and you have to enjoy playing with each other,” he said, “and I think we have to find that sense of enjoyment.”
Atlantic Notes: C. Johnson, Raptors, Barnes, Embiid, Maxey
As Nets forward Cameron Johnson waits to see if he’ll be traded, he’s finding himself at the top of opposing teams’ game plans, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. A string of injuries, along with last week’s trade of Dennis Schröder to Golden State, has forced Johnson to take on a larger role in Brooklyn’s offense. Utah was the latest team to adjust its defensive approach, trapping Johnson repeatedly on Saturday while forcing him into six turnovers and a 2-0f-9 shooting night from three-point range.
“The one thing — obviously good job on them for blitzing CJ — but six turnovers to five assists, it’s not good enough,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “The intentions were good, he was throwing the pass to the short roll. It was just the execution was not good. For the most part, he knew what we’re supposed to do, he’s just never been in that position. Every time Cam Thomas has been blitzed, we’ve got a clean execution out of it. If you turn it over every time, or a lot of times you got blitzed [it’s bad]. In the second half, he was better, but those turnovers, for sure we paid for it.”
It may be a short-term problem, as Johnson is considered likely to be moved before the February 6 trade deadline. The Thunder and Kings are among the teams that have reportedly expressed interest, and Lewis states that Johnson’s production and a contract that takes up just 13% of the cap make him the team’s top trade asset. In the meantime, Fernandez wants his players to do a better job of adjusting to the new defensive looks.
“We should have known how to space the floor versus blitz, especially the middle of the floor,” he said. “For the most part, when we executed right we had the shots that we wanted. Obviously, turning it over is not what we’re supposed to do, and we’ve got to be better.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Late-game execution continued to be a problem for the Raptors in Sunday’s four-point loss to Houston, observes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Toronto led for much of the night, but had too many empty possessions with the game on the line. The team could use Immanuel Quickley, who is recovering from a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament, and Koreen states that he was able to take part in Saturday’s practice, although he wasn’t cleared for contact. Koreen adds that finding a player who can create his own shot should be a priority in the draft, noting that Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper may be more proficient in that area than projected top pick Cooper Flagg.
- A lethargic performance from Scottie Barnes could be a cause for concern, contends Michael Grange of Sportsnet, although Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic attributed it to rust from recent injuries. In his second game since returning from a sprained ankle, Barnes had six points on 2-of-15 shooting and launched unsuccessful three-point attempts on his first seven shots. “As you can see, he’s not being himself,” Rajakovic said. “He’s banged up, he got hit in his hip the last game, [there’s] his ankle and there’s been a couple of things bothering him. He’s still not himself, he’ll be better.”
- Lack of cohesion has been a big factor in the Sixers‘ slow start, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Joel Embiid is expected to play tonight against San Antonio, which would mark just the fifth time this season he’s been on the court alongside Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Maxey is on the injury report with an illness, but he’s listed as probable to suit up, Pompey tweets.
International Notes: Gabriel, Korkmaz, Marjanovic, T. Williams
Former NBA big man Wenyen Gabriel is headed to Panathinaikos after the team agreed to pay a $350K buyout fee to Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews. In his first EuroLeague season, Gabriel is averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 blocks per game with the Israeli team while shooting 54% from the floor. He could make his debut in Greece as early as Friday.
Coach Ergin Ataman confirmed on Sunday that Panathinaikos was looking for roster help after losing Mathias Lessort, a member of the French Olympic team, to a fractured fibula that will sideline him for at least four months.
“We have three to four candidates,” Ataman said. “Gabriel is one of them, but he’s a Maccabi player, and we don’t know if Maccabi will let him go. Our GM [Sani Becirovic] is working, and I hope [Monday] we’ll have an answer from one of our candidates. At this point, we need a player urgently.”
Gabriel played for seven teams during his five years in the NBA and appeared in five games with Memphis last season. He was also part of the South Sudan team during the Olympics.
There’s more international news to pass along:
- Furkan Korkmaz, who signed with AS Monaco this summer after seven NBA seasons, plans to transfer before the EuroLeague’s Wednesday deadline, Urbonas states in a separate story. Sources tell Urbonas that Korkmaz is considering options both in and outside of the EuroLeague. His production has been limited by a leg injury that forced him to miss the first month of the season. In an interview with Urbonas last month, Korkmaz indicated that he had interest in playing in his native Turkey.
- Long-time NBA center Boban Marjanovic is looking for a new team after being released by Fenerbahce, Urbonas adds in another piece. The one-year contract Marjanovic signed this summer included a termination option that had to be exercised by January. The team recently elected to retain former NBA big man Khem Birch, who had the same clause in his deal. Marjanovic is exploring his options, which may include leaving the EuroLeague, Urbonas adds.
- Trevion Williams has signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv after leaving ALBA Berlin, according to EuroHoops. The former Purdue star spent time in the G League and was among the players selected by the Suns’ new affiliate in the June expansion draft.