And-Ones: NBA Cup, Timma, Trade Candidates, Flagg
While the NBA Cup figures to be a regular part of the league’s schedule going forward, there will likely still be some tweaks to the format and the schedule in future seasons, according to stories from Joe Vardon of The Athletic and Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
Managing the schedule for both the knockout round games and the extra regular season contests for teams not in Las Vegas is a challenge, but Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault isn’t thrilled that his team will play a road back-to-back set on Thursday and Friday on the East Coast after its Cup final in Vegas on Tuesday, as Vardon relays.
“We’re basically on a six-day West Coast road trip right now, and our next game coming out of this is three time zones away, four-hour flight to Orlando and then a back-to-back against Miami — which if you look that as a road trip, is an unprecedented road trip,” Daigneault said. “The NBA would never schedule that. They would never put a team a on six-day West Coast road trip, and then fly them east for a back-to-back.”
Besides considering potential scheduling tweaks, the league may explore a new location for the final four of the NBA Cup. According to Vardon, Abu Dhabi’s public investment fund has expressed interest in hosting the event, though that would create more significant scheduling issues. Cities like Mexico City, Nashville, Tampa and San Diego have also inquired about hosting, per Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.
As for for the format, the NBA and Amazon – which will broadcast the NBA Cup knockout round beginning next season – have discussed possible changes, including possibly moving the tournament later in the regular season, says Bontemps.
Sources who spoke to ESPN cautioned that there’s no guarantee the format will look any different next season, but Bontemps suggests expanding the group-play stage from four games to eight is one idea the NBA may explore, since it would increase the odds of the league’s top teams advancing to the knockout round and create more marquee matchups.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Veteran Latvian forward Janis Timma has been found dead in Moscow, according to a report from the Russian news agency TASS (via Eurohoops), who say that authorities believe it was a suicide. Timma was selected by the Grizzlies with the No. 60 pick of the 2013 draft and had his rights traded to the Magic in 2015 but never signed an NBA contract, having spent most of his career competing in European leagues — in addition to playing in Latvia, Russia, Spain, Greece and Turkey, he also had stints in the G League and in Puerto Rico. Timma won Baltic League and Latvian League titles and was named an All-Star a total of five times in Latvia and Russia.
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published his first “trade board” of the 2024/25 season, identifying 30 of the most notable players who are candidates to be on the move by February 6. Vecenie’s list is headlined by Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, and Cameron Johnson and includes three or more players apiece from the Bulls, Nets, Hawks, Trail Blazers, Wizards, and Jazz.
- Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) spoke to NBA executives and scouts about Duke freshman Cooper Flagg, exploring his strengths and weaknesses, what makes him a unique prospect, and why he’s the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Andrei Kirilenko, Jayson Tatum, Franz Wagner, Aaron Gordon and Grant Hill are some of the current and former NBA players Woo’s sources referenced as comparables for Flagg.“I don’t think he’s a generational guy — I think that word started getting used too frequently,” one executive said. “(But) when you look back at this draft, if he goes at 1, regardless of if other people end up better, nobody is going to say that was a bad pick.”
Southeast Notes: Ball, Miller, Mann, Carter, Wizards, Vukcevic
There was both good and bad news on the injury front for the Hornets on Monday. Star point guard LaMelo Ball, who had been out since November 27, returned to action vs. Philadelphia after missing seven games, and while he made just 5-of-15 shots from the field, Ball posted his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 assists in just 26 minutes of action.
However, the return of one key Hornets starter coincided with an injury to another. As Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer writes, forward Brandon Miller – the team’s second-leading scorer behind Ball – sprained his right ankle in the fourth quarter and missed the rest of the game. The severity of Miller’s injury isn’t yet known, so it’s unclear how much additional time (if any) he might miss.
“I think that he might have stepped on a foot in front of our bench — I’m not sure whose — then going down the other way, he drives on I believe it was (Paul) George and lays it in,” head coach Charles Lee said. “And then just as he came down, he tweaked it. We’ll evaluate him, and I know our performance staff will be on top of it.”
The Hornets also provided an update on another injured guard on Monday, announcing (via Twitter) that Tre Mann has begun light court work and weight-room activities. Mann, who has been out since Nov. 21 due to disc irritation in his back, will be reevaluated in two weeks, according to the club.
Here’s more from around the Southeast:
- Since returning from a 12-game injury absence on November 27, Magic big man Wendell Carter Jr. has been starting alongside Goga Bitadze and spending more time as a power forward than a center. The adjustment, necessitated by injuries to forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, has been a challenging one for Carter, though he said he thinks he’s getting back to his “old self” after spending a few games feeling like he was “floating” around the court, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. “It’s tough. I’m more used to crashing the glass, being around the rim a lot more, being in the pick-and-rolls a lot more,” Carter said. “But being at the four is a little different for me. Sometimes it’s tough because it feels like you’re not doing anything, but guys who watch basketball actually understand that the more you are spaced, the more you give driving lanes for your teammates.”
- The Wizards got a first-hand look on Sunday at the sort of offense they hope to build, according to Varun Shankar of The Washington Post, who says the front office wants to be able to field a lineup that features no offensive weak links and “multiple decision-makers and ball-handlers.” In their Sunday win over Washington, the defending champion Celtics had seven players score double-digit points and four players record at least four assists apiece, showing what that kind of offense looks like. The 3-21 Wizards, whose 103.7 offensive rating is easily the worst mark in the NBA, obviously have a long way to go.
- Within the same Washington Post story, Shankar notes that Wizards two-way player Tristan Vukcevic made his G League season debut on Sunday after recovering from a left knee injury. Discussing Vukcevic’s return, head coach Brian Keefe spoke about what he wants to see from the young center this season. “You want him to start impacting the game on the defensive end, being a defensive anchor,” Keefe said on Sunday. “And then continue to do what he does offensively, which is stretch the court. Decision-maker, play-maker — those are the things he’s really good at. Really happy for him that he’s back on the court today.”
Raptors Notes: Barnes, Poeltl, Boucher, Brown, Barrett, Knicks Dispute
After Scottie Barnes went down with an ankle sprain last Monday, a report from ESPN indicated that he was expected to miss several weeks. However, the Raptors forward appears on track to beat that projected timeline, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet, who says there’s optimism Barnes could return to action as soon as this week.
Within the same story, Grange explores which Raptors players are and aren’t likely to be in-season trade candidates ahead of the February 6 deadline. Notably, sources who have spoken to Grange believe that starting center Jakob Poeltl will probably stick with the team through the deadline rather than being dangled as a trade chip.
As Grange explains, Toronto would ideally like to just spend one season rebuilding and then begin pushing back toward contention next season in a relatively weak Eastern Conference. Poeltl is under contract for at least 2025/26 (with a player option for ’26/27), so he could be part of the Raptors’ next playoff team. And if the retooling process don’t progress as quickly as hoped, he’d still have trade value in a future transaction window.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Grange identifies big man Chris Boucher and swingman Bruce Brown – both on expiring contracts – as logical trade candidates for Toronto, but notes that the club is unlikely to extract a significant return for either player due to their large cap hits ($10.8MM for Boucher, $23MM for Brown) relative to their production. “If there was big demand, he wouldn’t be on the Raptors,” one Eastern Conference executive said of Boucher.
- As for Brown, Grange hears from team sources that the veteran has bought into what the Raptors are trying to build and wouldn’t be opposed to sticking around, meaning it’s not entirely out of the question that he stays in Toronto and re-signs in the summer.
- In a separate story for Sportsnet.ca, Grange takes a look at the impressive strides that forward RJ Barrett has made this season as a play-maker and de facto point guard with Immanuel Quickley having missed most of the season due to injuries. The 24-year-old, who never averaged more than 3.0 assists per game with the Knicks, increased that number to 4.1 APG after being traded to the Raptors last season and has bumped it up again to 6.0 APG so far in 2024/25.
- After the Knicks and Raptors informed the U.S. District Court last week that the NBA hadn’t provided them with any updates on its investigation into the Knicks’ allegations of stolen files, the league reached out to both teams on Monday to begin the process, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link). The Knicks, who initially filed a lawsuit against the Raptors and were referred back to the NBA’s arbitration process by the court, have maintained all along that commissioner Adam Silver isn’t an impartial judge and beat that drum again on Monday. “The NBA has admitted to sitting on this serious theft of proprietary and confidential files for several months,” the team told The New York Post in a statement. “The NBA has a clear conflict of interest and a lack of desire to see a fair outcome in this matter – which we’ve said all along.”
New York Notes: Nets, Simmons, Bridges, Sims, Towns
While dealing Dennis Schröder to Golden State is viewed as a tanking move for a team looking to accumulate assets, the Nets can now play at a faster pace, according to head coach Jordi Fernandez.
“Dennis was bottom ten slowest point guards in the NBA – pace doesn’t mean you’re better or worse – and Ben (Simmons) is 18th-fastest,” Fernandez said, per Lewis (Twitter link). “… We’re going to try to play faster. The ball is going to fly. He’s going to push. He’s going to throw it ahead.”
We have more from the New York teams:
- Simmons, who underwent back surgery in March, hasn’t played more than 27:20 in any game this season. An unrestricted free agent after the season, the Nets‘ new top point guard said his playing time could expand soon, Lewis adds in another tweet. “I think my restriction right now is 27,” he said. “I think it’s around that. So hopefully that changes soon.”
- In an era when playing in all 82 regular-season games is a rarity, Mikal Bridges has established himself as NBA’s iron man. The Knicks wing made his 500th consecutive appearance in Sunday’s 100-91 victory over the Magic, a streak that began with his first game with the Suns as a rookie, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post notes. “Everyone talks about offensive traits and talents and defensive traits and talents, but the most impactful and the greatest trait you can have is availability and he has it and he’s shown it,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “Shoutout to him. That’s a huge accomplishment.”
- Jericho Sims has garnered some trade interest, according to Bondy. Sims, playing on an expiring $2.1MM contract, has seen his playing time cut in recent games. The center position is the Knicks’ most obvious need, even though Mitchell Robinson is expected to return at some point. But the team doesn’t have many assets left after making two blockbuster trades in the offseason, though Miles McBride and/or Josh Hart could conceivably be dealt for the right player, Bondy suggests.
- Towns will return to Minnesota on Thursday for the first time since he was traded to the Knicks. He’s not sure how he’ll be received, according to Bondy. “I don’t know (how they will embrace me). But I know that every single day that I put on that Timberwolves jersey I gave the absolute best of me even when I wasn’t 100 percent,” Towns said. “I gave them all of me mentally, physically, spiritually. I was there nine years, so I go there with a lot of pride and joy for the memories that I have.”
Southwest Notes: Popovich, Thompson, Morant, Boston
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has released a statement via the team’s PR department regarding his recovery from a stroke and the support he’s received since he stepped away from the team (Twitter link). Popovich mentioned that he anticipated returning to coaching at some point.
“This has certainly been an unexpected six weeks for my family and me,” Popovich said. “As we work together on my recovery, I want to take a moment to share that the outpouring of support we’ve received during this time has been truly overwhelming in the best possible way. While I wish I could get back to each one of you, for now, let me say that my family and I are forever grateful. We’re thankful for our wonderful community, the entire Spurs organization, and our family and friends.
“No one is more excited to see me return to the bench than the talented individuals who have been leading my rehabilitation process. They’ve quickly learned that I’m less than coachable.”
Popovich suffered a mild stroke on Nov. 2. This was his first public statement since the Spurs initially announced he would be away from the team. Assistant Mitch Johnson has served as the club’s acting head coach in Popovich’s absence.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- Longtime Warriors guard Klay Thompson scored a season-high 29 points in the Mavericks’ win at Golden State on Sunday. It was the second trip back to his former home arena and Thompson said he was much more relaxed. “Way easier,” Thompson said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Especially not seeing all the captain’s hats. I saw a few of those. Much easier. Felt more settled in than the first time I was out here.” Warriors employees lined up along the walls of the ramp where the visiting team arrives at Chase Center and saluted Thompson with a tip of a captain’s hat in Dallas’ first trip there last month.
- Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said earlier this month that he doesn’t want to dunk anymore as he tries to avoid injuries any way he can. However, his teammates are somewhat skeptical, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I don’t think that he’s serious,” forward Brandon Clarke said. “I just don’t think that he’s going to dunk as many on people because that’s when it’s a risk of getting fouled hard or getting hurt.”
- The Pelicans lost their 13th straight road game on Sunday but they got a strong effort from reserve two-way player Brandon Boston, who scored 20 points to lead five Pelicans in double figures. “His confidence is growing more and more as he progresses throughout the season,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said, per the Associated Press. “He’s understanding his role. He’s started some games. Right now he’s in the second unit. He’s getting solid minutes each and every game and he’s very confident in what he can do once he touches the floor.”
Central Notes: Cunningham, Lillard, Middleton, Phillips
The field of contenders is deep, but Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has put himself in the discussion for All-Star consideration, Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois writes.
Cunningham entered Monday’s game against Miami averaging 23.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 9.3 assists per contest. He has admirers around the league not only for his stats but also because he’s establishing himself as a leader and clutch performer, Langlois notes.
However, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young are likely to be popular in the fan voting for Eastern Conference guards while LaMelo Ball, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey, Tyler Herro, Tyrese Haliburton, Darius Garland, Zach LaVine and the Boston duo of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday also merit consideration from fans and the coaches who will choose the reserves.
We have more Central Division news:
- With the Bucks preparing for the NBA Cup finals against Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Lillard sat out practice due to a calf issue. However, it was a precautionary move, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, and Lillard says he’ll suit up for the game. According to the team’s PR department, the Bucks’ point guard has a right calf contusion (Twitter links here).
- Bucks forward Khris Middleton has appeared in four games off the bench since returning from offseason surgeries on both ankles. Middleton was irritated by the notion that he took his sweet time to get back into action, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “People say I was scared to play mentally, or whatever case may be. It was just I wasn’t ready to play physically, mentally,” he said. “When you go through injuries, when you go through surgeries, you have to make sure physically you feel fine and mentally you’re there. All the way around, you have to be ready to play.” Middleton’s status for the Cup final is uncertain; he missed practice on Monday due to an illness, according to an Associated Press report. He’s listed as probable, Nehm tweets.
- Bulls forward Julian Phillips has seen his role diminish since making a couple of starts earlier this month. Phillips, a 2023 second-rounder, needs to expand his game and create offense for teammates in order to get more playing time. “Julian has done a really good job of spacing the floor, shooting his threes, but I think he can do a little bit more off the dribble,” coach Billy Donovan told Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. “Whether or not we can get there this year, I don’t know.”
Pistons Re-Sign Paul Reed, Waive McCoy
The Pistons have re-signed center Paul Reed and waived wing Javante McCoy, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter links).
Detroit signed McCoy to a standard, non-guaranteed contract on Sunday. That turned out to be just a stopgap in order for the Pistons to reach the minimum salary floor while Reed was on waivers.
Detroit needed to fill a roster spot after cutting Reed on Saturday because that move dropped the Pistons to $1,417,937 below the minimum salary floor, which they were required to reach by the end of Sunday. Detroit is now back at the minimum salary floor as a result of bringing back Reed and is still the only NBA team with cap room, holding about $14MM in space, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
Reed had a $7.7MM salary this season that would have become fully guaranteed next month. Instead, he will return as Detroit’s third-string center on a more team-friendly deal. He’ll get the veteran’s minimum, Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
Reed, 25, was the 58th overall pick of the 2020 draft out of DePaul. He spent his first four seasons with the 76ers, who waived him in July to create enough cap room to sign all of their external free agents. The Pistons claimed him a couple days later.
Reed was a rotation regular with Philadelphia last season, averaging 7.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 1.0 blocks in 82 games (19.4 MPG). He has appeared in 12 contests this season, averaging 4.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG and 0.8 SPG in 10.4 MPG.
Despite being on the roster for just 24 hours, McCoy will be paid for four days — the two he spent on the roster and the two he’ll spend on waivers. That will result in a prorated salary of $32,596, as cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets.
It’s likely that McCoy will just rejoin Detroit’s G League team. The 6’5” McCoy has appeared in 12 games this season for the Motor City Cruise, averaging 14.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.1 minutes per game. McCoy is also shooting 51.4% from 3-point range.
Dunleavy: Warriors Will Continue To Look For Upgrades
Discussing the trade acquisition of veteran point guard Dennis Schröder, general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the Warriors will continue to be aggressive in their search for roster upgrades, according to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
After starting the season 12-3, the Warriors have gone just 2-8 over their past 10 games. They are currently 14-11, the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
“We’re always aggressive,” Dunleavy said. “You got to be mindful of what you’re giving up, what you’re getting back, all those things. But anything to do to make the team better, we’re going to do.
“We’re in a time zone here of maximizing our window with Steph [Curry], Draymond [Green] and Steve [Kerr] as our coach. So as proven here on the first day we could basically make trades with certain players, we did that. … For the most part I feel good about this team, particularly on the defensive end, and now we have a player that we think could create and generate more offense for us. I want to evaluate and see, but we’ll always be looking at stuff.”
Schröder is playing on an expiring $13MM contract, making him an unrestricted free agent next summer. One report indicated the Warriors could look to flip him in a future deal for a star-level player, since he’s eligible to be aggregated with other salaries starting February 5, just before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
However, Kerr suggested Schröder could start in the backcourt alongside Curry. And Dunleavy claims Golden State views the 31-year-old German as more than just a “short-term rental,” as Youngmisuk puts it.
“We still think he’s got a lot of good years left in him,” Dunleavy said of Schröder. “And we’ll have his [Early] Bird rights, the ability to re-sign him after the season. We think he’s a good fit for us on both sides of the court and hopefully there’s a relationship here longer than just a few months.”
Heat Notes: Bryant, Spoelstra, 14th Roster Spot, Butler
Head coach Erik Spoelstra cited “flexibility” as one reason why the Heat decided to trade big man Thomas Bryant to the Pacers for a 2031 second-round pick swap, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. The parting sounds quite amicable, with Spoelstra praising Bryant for staying upbeat amid a challenging individual season — he wasn’t a regular part of Miami’s rotation.
“We’re all big fans of TB,” Spoelstra said. “And what you have in this profession is your reputation, your character, obviously your talent. But when you make an impression on everybody here and everybody feels the same way, that’s a win. He deserves the opportunity to play.
“These are always thought decisions, especially when you make ’em during the season. But I think this is one of the cases where it makes sense for both parties. And because he was such a pro, we worked with TB and his agent to make this happen.”
Here’s more from Miami:
- After trading Bryant, the Heat have just 13 players on standard contracts (they had only been carrying 14 instead of the maximum 15 due tax concerns). As of Sunday, they have 14 days to fill the 14th spot — they’re expected to take the full two weeks to make that decision. Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald takes a look at the many implications of the open 14th roster spot, including the players who could be positively impacted.
- The Heat are listening to trade offers for Jimmy Butler. He’s reportedly contemplating a future outside of Miami, with several reports indicating he plans to decline his player option for next season to hit free agency in the offseason. The Heat could trade Butler, but should they? Winderman considers that question in a subscriber-only story.
- In case you missed it, we passed along more Heat notes yesterday, plus several notes and rumors involving Butler over the past few days.
Joel Embiid Out At Least One Week With Sinus Fracture
Former NBA MVP Joel Embiid will miss at least one week due to the right sinus fracture he sustained in Friday’s loss to Indiana, the Sixers announced in a press release (Twitter link via Chris Haynes).
Embiid, who had already been ruled out for Monday’s game in Charlotte, will be reevaluated in a week.
Embiid exited Friday’s game just before halftime after being struck in the face by Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin and didn’t return in the second half. Mathurin and Embiid were battling for a rebound under the Sixers’ basket when Mathurin’s left forearm and elbow made hard contact with the the right side of Embiid’s face and the bridge of his nose (Twitter video link via Bleacher Report).
Friday’s contest was just the sixth of 23 Sixers games that Embiid has played this season. He has missed time due to left knee swelling and was also suspended three games for a locker room run-in with a reporter.
If there’s a silver lining to Embiid’s latest injury absence, it’s that Philadelphia only has three games this week. After Monday’s contest, the 76ers will host the Hornets on Friday, then travel to Cleveland on Saturday for a back-to-back. Their next game after that is Monday vs. San Antonio.
Unfortunately, the 30-year-old center wasn’t the only Sixer injured on Friday, as rookie guard Jared McCain suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee and requires surgery. Philadelphia’s 2024 first-round pick is out indefinitely.