Heat Rumors: Wiggins, Butler, Anderson, Tax
After declining to comment on the Jimmy Butler situation in recent weeks, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra addressed the subject on Friday after the team’s four-team deal sending the star forward to Golden State had officially been processed, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
Spoelstra admitted that he doesn’t “completely understand” how the relationship deteriorated to the extend that it did, but expressed gratitude to Butler for his time in Miami.
[RELATED: Inside Jimmy Butler’s Final Weeks With Heat]
“It was a great partnership and corroboration for five years,” Spoelstra said. “Some deep core memories. I’m grateful for them and grateful for the time of being able to coach a player like Jimmy.”
As for the outcome of the trade, Spoelstra praised the front office for bolstering the roster “in a way that was really creative,” expressing enthusiasm about the players the team added. The coach lauded Andrew Wiggins for his ability to fit in and make an impact on both ends of the court; cited Davion Mitchell‘s “competitive spirit” and toughness as traits the club has long admired; and referred to Kyle Anderson as one of the league’s most unique role players whose “IQ is off the charts.”
“(General manager) Andy (Elisburg) just did a tremendous job,” Spoelstra said. “Obviously (team president) Pat (Riley) with this vision of all this stuff. And to be able to get a draft pick, we were able to do a lot of different things.
“We have clarity now. This could have looked a lot worse if you had to go through a lot of different changing situations. All things considered, it’s a good spot for this stretch run. We feel good about turning the page of the direction of our franchise. It’s exciting. [And] Jimmy will be in a great place in Golden State.”
Here are a few more items of interest related to the Heat’s trade talks leading up to Thursday’s deadline:
- The Bucks and Sixers were mentioned a couple times in recent weeks as possible suitors for Butler, but neither team had substantive discussions with the Heat, Jackson reports in another Miami Herald story. Jackson believes a trade centered around Butler and Paul George would’ve been of greater interest to Philadelphia than Miami.
- As they engaged Golden State in recent weeks about a Butler trade, the Heat never seriously considered the idea of flipping Wiggins to Toronto or another team, according to Jackson, who says Miami really likes the former No. 1 overall pick and views him as a good two-way fit.
- The Heat would have ducked out of luxury tax territory if they’d completed a rumored side deal to send Anderson to the Raptors, but Toronto’s front office changed its mind about bringing the veteran forward aboard when the team got the chance to acquire Brandon Ingram from New Orleans, says Jackson. The Heat weren’t angry at the Raptors about that pivot, Jackson adds, because they understood their talks were fluid and they hadn’t gotten a firm commitment from Toronto.
- Even though that aspect of the trade fell through, the Heat moved forward with another side deal – sending Dennis Schröder, a second-round pick, and cash to Utah for P.J. Tucker – even though it no longer moved them below the tax line, Jackson writes, because they didn’t want to renege on their agreement with the Jazz. Schröder and Tucker ultimately ended up in Detroit and Toronto, respectively, when the dust settled.
- The Heat, who remained about $2.8MM over the tax line following the Butler blockbuster, received three trade offers in the hours leading up to Thursday’s deadline that would’ve made them a non-taxpayer, per Jackson. However, they decided that all three proposals would make the team worse and opted to remain in the tax rather than accept one of them. Miami is still below the first tax apron, giving the club the ability to pursue any player who hits the buyout market, regardless of the player’s previous salary.
Inside Jimmy Butler’s Final Weeks With Heat
The contrast between how the Heat and Jimmy Butler‘s camp viewed a January 7 meeting between Butler and team president Pat Riley was indicative of the divide that had developed between the two sides in recent months, as James Jackson, Sam Amick, and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic write in a fascinating story detailing the 35-year-old’s final weeks in Miami.
Like Butler, whose father died last February, Riley lost his father when he was relatively young. Sources tell The Athletic that tears welled in Riley’s eyes as he spoke to Butler about that subject, attempting to connect with him on a human level and repair their fractured relationship during a two-hour meeting.
However, a source close to Butler tells The Athletic that the 35-year-old viewed Riley’s behavior during the meeting as “unhinged and disturbing.” According to Jackson, Amick, and Krawcznyski, the Heat star later told people close to him that Riley referenced Butler’s late father multiple times and offered “unsolicited and unwanted” parenting advice. He left the meeting more determined than ever to be traded out of Miami.
Team sources pushed back again the claim that Riley offered parenting advice, telling The Athletic that Riley believes he let Butler guide the conversation and only became “emotional” when Butler brought up the topic of his father. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, the Heat viewed the moment as a raw, vulnerable one for Riley and found it disrespectful that Butler’s camp characterized the team president as “unhinged.”
The two sides also disagree about what occurred in the aftermath of that meeting. According to The Athletic, Butler’s camp contends that Riley said shortly after the meeting that the Heat intended to lift Butler’s initial seven-game suspension and have him rejoin the team immediately, only to call back 90 minutes later to explain that couldn’t happen until the forward met with team owner Micky Arison in person.
Arison was on vacation until January 16 in the Caribbean, however, which meant Butler would have to fly to the Bahamas to meet him, per Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN. As The Athletic relays, Butler’s camp contends that Riley suggested the six-time All-Star could pay his own way there if he wanted to expedite the process.
However, team sources dispute that Riley ever offered to lift Butler’s suspension, telling The Athletic that the possibility was discussed prior to the meeting with the caveat that the meeting would have to go well.
“The meeting didn’t go well enough,” a club source tells The Athletic.
As a result, team sources say, it was determined that Butler’s suspension wouldn’t be lifted right away and he would meet with Arison after the Heat owner returned from his vacation.
Here are a few more of the most interesting details from the behind-the-scenes reports on Butler’s final season with the Heat:
- Prior to this season, Butler had been permitted to fly separately from the team if needed as long as he received permission from head coach Erik Spoelstra, but Riley decided in November that he – rather than Spoelstra – would make the final decision on Butler’s alternate travel plans, sources tell Jackson, Amick, and Krawczynski. A source with knowledge of Butler’s thinking felt that the change was one of several the team made in an effort to alienate him.
- Butler missed a Jan. 22 Heat flight, which resulted in his second team-imposed suspension. According to Jackson, Butler’s camp believes he was given permission last summer to skip that flight and fly to Milwaukee later in the day so that he could attend a promotional event for a padel tournament, but the Heat have no recollection of signing off on that request.
- Sources tell The Athletic that Butler’s agent called Riley on the morning of Jan. 22 to remind him of their alternate travel plan, with Riley responding to say he expected Butler to be on the team flight. Butler’s camp believed Spoelstra had approved Butler’s arrangement and that there had been a communication breakdown between the head coach and Riley, but team sources contend that Spoelstra didn’t approve the request and tell The Athletic that it wouldn’t have mattered if he had, given that Riley’s sign-off was now required.
- When they suspended Butler on Jan. 22, the Heat sent a letter to Butler, Lee, and NBPA lawyers detailing their justification for the two-game ban, according to Jackson, Amick, and Krawczynski, who obtained a copy of that letter. Within it, Riley claimed that Butler had threatened to skip practices and not listen to Spoelstra; that he failed to give his “best efforts” in recent games; and that he was “combative and argumentative” in meetings with Riley and Arison.
- When Spoelstra informed the Heat during a Jan. 27 shootaround that Haywood Highsmith would be replacing Butler in the starting lineup, Butler initially thought the coach was joking, sources tell The Athletic. He felt as if the decision to bench him and to not inform him before telling the team was “meant to provoke him,” per Jackson, Amick, and Krawczynski. According to Jackson, multiple Heat sources insisted the decision was done to maintain continuity rather than as a punishment or provocation. Butler left the court shortly after Spoelstra made that announcement and was subsequently suspended indefinitely for leaving practice early.
- “Everything changed” from the Heat’s perspective when Butler left a Dec. 20 game after tweaking his ankle and cited a stomach virus, Jackson writes for the Herald. Although Miami didn’t question whether or not Butler was ill, a team official thought it was “curious” that the forward refused to be tested for COVID-19, according to Jackson. The club was subsequently irked when Butler posted a photo of himself playing dominoes on the locker room on Dec. 29, Jackson says — he missed that day’s game in Houston due to his illness. From that point onward, the Heat considered Butler to be disengaged and became more open to trading him. They eventually finalized a deal with Golden State on deadline day.
Nuggets GM Calvin Booth Discusses Decision To Stand Pat At Deadline
One of five teams not to make a trade in the week leading up to Thursday’s deadline, the Nuggets explored the market in search of either a backcourt or a frontcourt addition, multiple sources tell Bennett Durando of The Denver Post.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, general manager Calvin Booth confirmed that the front office was seeking “overall depth and depth at the backup center (position),” Durando writes.
“We definitely liked some guys on the market and thought we had some traction in a couple different situations,” Booth said. “Whether other teams just beat us out with their offers or we just didn’t feel like it was the right use of our assets, a combination of those things led us to be where we’re at right now.”
Booth added that the Nuggets felt like they “either had to go big or do nothing,” though he subsequently clarified that – in his mind – a big move would’ve meant acquiring “a significant depth piece,” not necessarily an impact starter.
In fact, while Denver briefly entertained the possibility of a trade involving Michael Porter Jr. and Zach LaVine back in December, the team quickly moved on from considering a significant deal along those lines and was focused more on strengthening its bench, per Durando.
“I think we liked everything that was happening in our rotation, so we weren’t close to doing anything with anybody in our rotation,” Booth said. “It was gonna be some of the guys that are outside of it, like Dario (Saric) and Zeke (Nnaji), and using some of our draft assets to bolster our lineup as opposed to moving a bigger (salary) guy like Mike.”
Saric ($5.17MM) and Nnaji ($8.89MM) would have been logical salary-matching pieces for a player in the mid-level range. However, neither player has had a great season and both have guaranteed money left on their contracts beyond this season, so they would’ve been negative assets on the trade market.
The Nuggets also have an extremely limited collection of tradable draft picks left and are operating over the first tax apron, further complicating their efforts to upgrade the roster.
There was some speculation that the Nuggets might look to duck the first apron at the deadline in order to give themselves the opportunity to sign a player on the buyout market whose pre-waiver salary exceeds the mid-level exception. Booth confirmed the club considered that idea.
“It was an option,” Booth said. “Do we go get a guy on the trade market, or do we just get below (the first apron) and try to get one of these guys that’s potentially gonna on the buyout market that made above a certain number?”
Former Nugget Bruce Brown was considered a potential target in that scenario, but it wouldn’t have made sense for Denver to give up anything of value in a salary-dump trade unless the team was pretty confident about its chances to sign a specific player after the deadline. Brown was sent to the Pelicans and is reportedly not currently viewed as a buyout candidate.
While the Nuggets will be ineligible to sign Brown or anyone else currently earning more than $12.8MM who reaches free agency in the coming weeks, Booth didn’t rule out the idea of making a move on the buyout market, telling reporters that he believes “ownership is open to any conversation.” Denver would have to open up a spot on its 15-man roster to sign a free agent.
More On Kevin Durant: Curry Convo, Warriors/Heat Trade Talks
The Warriors and Suns began “secretly” talking about the possibility of a Kevin Durant trade early last week, according to Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN, who say that the star forward and his longtime manager and agent Rich Kleiman didn’t learn about those discussions until the two teams played one another last Friday.
By Saturday, the two teams were far enough along in negotiations that Durant and Stephen Curry touched base to talk about the idea. Shelburne and Windhorst hear from sources that Durant told Curry a reunion with the Warriors “didn’t feel right” and that this “wasn’t the time” for them to team up again.
While the Warriors were discouraged by Durant’s stance, they didn’t give up on making a deal at that point, hoping that Durant might change his tune once he learned how far down the road Phoenix had gotten in those discussions without informing him, per ESPN.
The Suns have internally conceded that it was a mistake not to loop Durant into the process earlier, Shelburne and Windhorst say. The former MVP has been described as “blindsided” by being so heavily involved in trade rumors this week after having expressed a desire to stay in Phoenix.
“We should’ve gone through (Kleiman),” a team source told ESPN.
As Shams Charania reported earlier today, the Warriors, Suns, and Heat discussed a potential multi-team trade that would’ve sent both Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga to Phoenix, with Durant going to Golden State. Shelburne and Windhorst provide more details on those conversations, reporting that the Wizards were involved as well, as we speculated on Wednesday.
The four teams were negotiating a trade that would have looked like this, according to ESPN:
- Durant to Golden State.
- Butler, Kuminga, Jonas Valanciunas, two first-round picks (from the Warriors), two second-round picks (one each from Miami and Golden State), and pick swaps to Phoenix.
- Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson, and the Cavaliers’ 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix) to Miami.
There are some missing details there — among them, Jusuf Nurkic would’ve been involved and would’ve gone to the Wizards, who presumably would’ve sought at least a first-rounder from the Suns as a sweetener to take on that contract.
While it sounds like there was some momentum in those negotiations, the Heat ultimately weren’t sold on the deal. They sought the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick rather than Cleveland’s, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that Golden State also had some reservations about the Suns’ steep asking price for Durant.
With Durant standing firm on his stance that he had no desire to go to Golden State, the talks fell apart.
After those discussions ended, there was a window for the Heat to potentially acquire Durant in a trade that would send Butler to Phoenix. Durant would have been more open to playing in Miami than Golden State, sources tell ESPN, and the Suns and Heat traded “visions” of what a deal might look like, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
However, the Suns were seeking a massive haul for Durant that included “a combination of talented young players and draft picks,” Jackson writes. According to both ESPN and the Herald, the Heat considered the price too steep and backed out, pivoting to a Butler deal with the Warriors that cut out Phoenix altogether.
The Suns were “deflated” by the outcome, according to Shelburne and Windhorst, who say that there were several times during the weeks leading up to Thursday’s deadline that Phoenix thought there might be a path to a Butler deal involving Bradley Beal.
However, sources tell ESPN that the Hawks and Wizards were believed to be the only teams considering taking on Beal, and it’s unclear whether he would’ve waived his no-trade clause for either team. The Suns reportedly never got close enough to a deal to approach Beal about it, eventually pivoting to exploring a Durant scenario without first informing the star forward.
As Windhorst noted on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, we’ll find out this coming summer whether those Suns trade talks involving Durant will sour him on the idea of remaining in Phoenix beyond this season.
Magic Sign Ethan Thompson To Two-Way Contract
Osceola Magic guard Ethan Thompson has been promoted from the G League to the NBA, having signed a two-way contract with Orlando, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
Thompson, who went undrafted out of Oregon State in 2021, has played primarily in the G League since then, beginning his professional career with the Windy City Bulls and also spending time with the Mexico City Capitanes before a stint last year with Osos de Manati in Puerto Rico.
Ahead of the 2024/25 season, Thompson signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic and spent the preseason with the club before being cut and reporting to Osceola, the Magic’s NBAGL affiliate.
In 30 total appearances in the Tip-Off Tournament and G League regular season, Thompson has averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 32.9 minutes, knocking down an impressive 38.2% of 8.2 three-point attempts per game.
Orlando has left its third two-way slot open for the entire season, finally filling it with this move, so no corresponding roster move is required.
Thompson, who will join two-way players Trevelin Queen and Mac McClung, will be eligible to appear in up to 19 NBA regular season games with the Magic for the rest of the season.
Trade Deadline Leftovers: Ingram, Draft Pick Details, Tax Projections, More
Brandon Ingram waived his trade bonus as part of the trade that sent him from New Orleans to the Raptors, reports Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Ingram’s 15% trade kicker would have added nearly $2.1MM to his $36MM salary for this season, and while the Pelicans would have been responsible for paying it, Toronto would have taken the cap hit, pushing the team close to the luxury tax line.
Without that extra money on the books, the Raptors were able to accommodate a James Wiseman salary dump deal with Indiana and promote Jamison Battle to their standard roster while still maintaining some breathing room below the tax threshold.
As Murphy notes, the Raptors/Pelicans trade still would’ve worked just fine from a rules perspective if Ingram had received his trade bonus, so he certainly wasn’t obligated to waive it. The fact that he did so might suggest that the veteran forward feels good about what a contract offer from Toronto will look like, Murphy speculates.
Here are a few more leftovers from Thursday’s trade-deadline deals:
- According to John Hollinger of The Athletic and Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian (Twitter links), the 2025 second-round pick the Wizards sent the Grizzlies in their Marcus Smart trade is believed to be the least favorable of Detroit’s, Golden State’s, and Phoenix’s second-rounders. Washington sent the second-most favorable of those picks to Milwaukee in the Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton deal.
- As part of their Dennis Schröder side agreement within the framework of the five-team Jimmy Butler trade, the Pistons sent the Jazz the least favorable of their five potential second-round picks for 2028, reports Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). That group of picks includes New York’s, Charlotte’s, and the Clippers’ second-rounders. It will also include Detroit’s if it’s between 31-55 and Miami’s, as long as Dallas’ 2027 first-rounder isn’t in the top two.
- To ensure they sent out at least one outgoing piece in the Kuzma/Middleton trade, the Spurs traded a protected 2026 second-round pick to the Bucks, per a press release from San Antonio. The Spurs didn’t provide any additional details on that pick, but it’s a virtual lock to be top-55 protected. The only question is whether it’s the Spurs’ own pick or one of the others they control.
- Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) shares the updated end-of-season luxury tax projections after multiple teams ducked the tax or reduced their projected payments at the deadline. As a result of those moves, the projected payment for non-taxpayers dropped to $11.4MM apiece for 20 teams.
- Several of ESPN’s NBA insiders share their thoughts on the biggest stories of the trade deadline, while John Hollinger of The Athletic explains why the 2026 offseason – which projects to have a loaded free agent class and many teams with cap room – loomed over many of this week’s moves.
- According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), there’s a “growing sentiment” among NBA teams after a wild deadline week that the deadline should happen during a break in the schedule. “It’s chaos, and your players and coaches have to play,” one GM told Smith. “Sometimes it’s hard to field a competitive roster. We need to look at adjusting the timing to be less impactful to the product we put on the floor.” The trade deadline used to be during the All-Star break, but the NBA was concerned about major deals overshadowing its midseason showcase — that would have been especially true this year, with All-Stars Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis traded for one another.
Southwest Notes: Davis, Mavs, Rockets, Fox
Star big man Anthony Davis is on track to return from his abdominal strain and make his Mavericks debut on Saturday, having been officially listed as probable to play in Dallas vs. the Rockets.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPN details, it’s expected to be a charged environment in Dallas, where a protest is planned from fans angry about the decision to trade away franchise player Luka Doncic. Davis said on Friday that he “can’t control” how fans will react, but that he understands why they’re upset about the trade.
“Obviously it’s a business, and I get who Luka was to this franchise, to the city,” Davis said. “I’m never going to downplay that — just how I know what I meant to the city of L.A. So I’m not surprised by the fans’ reaction and the city’s reaction, but it’s my job to come in and play basketball and do what I’m supposed to do and give the fans hope and reassurance on why [general manager] Nico [Harrison] brought me here.
“…I understand who Luka is and what he’s able to do and what he’s already done for our game. He’s a phenomenal player, going to be one of the best to ever play the game of basketball. But to have Nico trade for me just shows his belief in me and what I can do on the floor. It’s my job to produce every night and have Mavs nation believe that as well. So I’m excited for the challenge.”
While it’s no surprise that some Mavs fans have handled news of the Doncic/Davis trade poorly, “lines have been crossed,” according to MacMahon, who said during a TV appearance (Twitter video link) that Harrison has received threats and faced racial epithets.
Sources tell MacMahon that the team has beefed up security for Saturday’s contest and that Harrison – who has employed his own personal security – won’t be in his usual seat for the game.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said on Thursday that he envisions a starting lineup that features P.J. Washington at small forward and Davis at power forward alongside a center (Twitter link via Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News). When Dereck Lively is healthy, he may be the team’s starting five, but until then, Daniel Gafford will likely get that assignment. Washington, who has missed the past three games due to right knee soreness and personal reasons, is off the injury report and should be available on Saturday.
- Rockets officials expressed for months leading up to Thursday’s deadline that they planned to stick with their current roster making than making any major in-season deals and they stuck to that plan this week, as Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes. Reports have suggested Houston wants to see how its young core performs in the postseason before making any major roster decisions — head coach Ime Udoka reiterated that point on Thursday. “We like what we have,” Udoka said. “We’ve been doing OK and feel we can do a lot better. (We) want to continue to grow as a group, watch our young guys develop, play in big situations and see what we have.”
- Citing team and league sources, Iko reports that the Rockets received calls this week on Jae’Sean Tate, Jock Landale, Aaron Holiday, and Steven Adams, all of whom are on expiring or pseudo-expiring contracts. However, Houston didn’t feel compelled to make any move that would compromise the team’s depth, according to Iko, who says Tate generated the most interest of those four players.
- De’Aaron Fox‘s 24-point, 13-assist Spurs debut on Wednesday in a tight win over Atlanta provided a compelling case for the star guard’s fit in San Antonio, writes ESPN’s Michael C. Wright. “Selfishly, as a coach, I think that’s probably about as complete of a game you’d hope for the first game,” acting head coach Mitch Johnson said. “You saw the potential. It’s tantalizing. He’s dynamic. He’s going to unlock a whole different element for our team.”
Raptors Sign Jamison Battle To Three-Year Deal
6:05 pm: Battle has been officially promoted to the standard roster, the team announced in a press release. In a corresponding move, Robinson has been re-signed to a two-way deal.
2:04 pm: The Raptors are converting Jamison Battle‘s two-way contract into a standard deal covering three years, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).
As Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca observes (Twitter links), Toronto will use a portion of its mid-level exception to give Battle a three-year deal. Once the move is official, the Raptors will have on open standard roster spot and one two-way opening, with one of those likely earmarked for center Orlando Robinson, whose second 10-day contract with Toronto recently expired.
Battle will be paid the veteran’s minimum in 2025/26 and ’26/27 and his deal will be partially guaranteed for those seasons, according to Murphy (Twitter link), who expects the sharpshooting forward to receive more than the minimum in ’24/25.
Battle, 23, went undrafted in 2024 after playing five college seasons at George Washington, Minnesota and Ohio State. He was initially signed to an Exhibit 10 deal for training camp, but impressed the Raptors in the fall and was promoted to a two-way deal in October, just before the ’24/25 season began.
In 35 games during his rookie campaign, Battle has averaged 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds while posting a strong shooting slash line of .458/.417/.857 in 12.6 minutes per contest. The majority of his field goal attempts have come from three-point range.
Raptors Sign Orlando Robinson To Two-Way Deal
After his second 10-day contract with the Raptors expired on Thursday night, Orlando Robinson is back with the team, having signed a two-way deal, according to a press release. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link) first reported that Robinson would be returning on a two-way contract.
Robinson, who began the season with Sacramento, was waived from his non-guaranteed contract by the Kings a month ago and caught on with the Raptors, signing a pair of 10-day deals with Toronto in recent weeks.
The seven-foot center has already played more minutes in 20 days with the Raptors than he did in two-and-a-half months with the Kings, averaging 3.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per game across seven outings with Toronto so far.
Robinson could play a more significant role in the frontcourt after the club traded big man Kelly Olynyk to New Orleans at Thursday’s trade deadline.
The Raptors opened up a two-way slot by promoting Jamison Battle to the 15-man roster. That move, reported earlier today, is now official. Toronto still has one open spot on its standard roster and could use that opening to continue auditioning players on 10-day deals.
Robinson will be eligible to appear in up to 19 NBA games for the rest of the 2024/25 season, a prorated portion of the full-season 50-game limit.
Blazers GM Cronin On Quiet Deadline: ‘We Just Didn’t Find The Value’
The Trail Blazers were viewed for much of the season as a likely seller at the trade deadline, with veterans like Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams, and Deandre Ayton among the players believed to be available.
However, Portland was one of just five NBA teams that didn’t make a single trade in the week leading up to Thursday’s deadline. Speaking on Thursday to reporters, including Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian, general manager Joe Cronin explained why the club’s inactivity.
“We know a lot of fans, and probably a lot of people in here, prefer a little bit of action,” Cronin said. “Often, we do too. We’re always looking for ways to participate in these windows and find guys who can help us be better. But this time around, we just didn’t find the value. So, we decided to pass.
“… I would say we got fairly close on a few things. Nothing that dragged out all the way through (Thursday). Some of the stuff was exhausted over the last couple of weeks. There are a few that made some sense for us and for the other team, but just didn’t happen.”
Grant, Simons, Williams, and Ayton aren’t necessarily part of the long-term core in Portland, which is headlined by younger players like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Donovan Clingan. But Simons, Williams, and Ayton have one more year left on their respective contracts, while Grant is locked up for at least two more seasons beyond this one, so there was no urgency to move them right now — there will be opportunities to do so in future transaction windows.
Cronin said on Thursday that he likes having those veterans around for their leadership and their “functionality on the court.” The Blazers’ GM noted that he also “had to consider not rocking the boat” during the team’s recent hot streak. After an uninspiring 13-28 first half, Portland has unexpectedly won 10 of 11 games since January 19 and is suddenly within 2.5 games of a play-in spot.
“I think it would be unfair to take (the chance to reach the postseason) away from them,” Cronin said. “I’m so proud and so excited about these guys that the sky’s the limit. Go win. Let’s see what you can do.”
Head coach Chauncey Billups said he was appreciative of the opportunity to keep working with this roster.
“I love what we have,” he said. “I love what we’ve been working on. I love how we’re developing. Right now, we’re learning a lot about each other. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Here are a few more Blazers-related items:
- Jason Quick of The Athletic details how a series of four meetings – including one in which Billups directly challenged Henderson and two in which he delivered “brutally honest assessments” to Sharpe about his defense – helped spur the Blazers’ turnaround.
- The Blazers hold an option on Billups’ contract for the 2025/26 season, according to Quick, who hears from agent Andy Miller that team ownership has yet to talk to the head coach about his future in Portland. “I have not had any discussion with them regarding his option and possible extension,” Miller said. “We are completely confident with his development and body of work as a coach. He is well-respected league-wide as both coach and a leader.”
- While there was a widespread belief earlier in the season that Billups was unlikely to remain in his current role beyond 2024/25, he deserves a lot of credit for pushing the right buttons in recent weeks, writes Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report (Substack link). “Nobody on the team wavered on Chauncey’s message [early in the season],” Simons said earlier this week. “It can be frustrating at times when you don’t see the results. But we stuck with it. We’ve been sticking with how we want to play. It took some time to get adjusted to playing faster now, getting to know each other. But he’s been preaching the same thing all year. We’re seeing the results of the things he’s been preaching.”