Pacers Actively Pursuing Backup Center
The Pacers are “actively pursuing” a center to back up starter Myles Turner, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link).
At the start of the regular season, the Pacers expected offseason free agent addition James Wiseman to compete with former first-round pick Isaiah Jackson for minutes behind Turner. However, Wiseman suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the regular season opener and Jackson sustained the same injury just nine days later.
Indiana signed journeyman center Moses Brown to a non-guaranteed deal in November and he appeared in nine games for the team before falling out of the rotation and being waived on Monday.
The Pacers now have an open spot on their 15-man roster and are operating approximately $2.2MM below the luxury tax line. That gives them the flexibility to trade for a player on a one-year, minimum-salary contract without becoming a projected taxpayer.
Charania doesn’t go into any detail on whether the Pacers have their eye on a specific player, but a number of centers who signed one-year minimum deals will become trade-eligible this Sunday. That group includes Thomas Bryant, Charles Bassey, Alex Len, and former Pacer Daniel Theis, among many others.
Indiana was awarded a $2.2MM disabled player exception for Jackson’s injury — it could be used to trade for a player on an expiring contract whose salary fits into the exception. There aren’t many centers who fit that bill – and who couldn’t simply be acquired using the minimum salary exception – but Jericho Sims is one example.
Trading for a player earning more than the minimum wouldn’t be out of the question for the Pacers, but it would likely mean sending out at least one player in order to stay below the tax line. Jackson, who is on a $4.4MM expiring contract, is one possible trade candidate who would make sense if Indiana targets a center in the $5MM range such as Nick Richards or Drew Eubanks.
Turner is averaging a career-high 31.9 minutes per game so far this season. In recent games, when he’s been off the floor, the Pacers have gone with small-ball lineups featuring multiple power forwards, including Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, and Jarace Walker.
Cavs’ Max Strus Nearing Season Debut
The Cavaliers have an NBA-best 21-4 record so far this season despite not yet having one of their five presumed starters available. According to Grant Afseth of RG.org, that fifth starter is on track to make his season debut later this week.
The expectation is that Cavs wing Max Strus will be available to suit up on Friday vs. Washington after recovering from the right ankle sprain that has sidelined him since before the regular season began, sources tell Afseth.
Strus initially sustained a hip contusion early in the preseason and was nearing a return from that injury when he sprained his ankle during an individual workout just days before the season opener.
Strus may not immediately reclaim his spot as Cleveland’s top small forward after starting 70 regular season games and 12 more playoff contests last season. Afseth suggests Strus will face a minutes restriction, and a previous report from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com indicated the 28-year-old would likely come off the bench in his return.
“It’s like we signed a starting player to our team,”head coach Kenny Atkinson said of Strus’ impending return, per Afseth. “And now we’re going to have to figure out what that integration looks like, what the progression is… It’s a discussion with our performance team (about) what the minute build-up is going to look like.”
Strus was a solid contributor in his first year in Cleveland after signing a four-year, $62MM contract during the 2023 free agent period. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game with a .351 3PT%. The Cavs are said to be eager to see what the veteran swingman looks like in Atkinson’s new up-tempo system.
Isaac Okoro (14 starts) and Dean Wade (nine starts) have been the primary replacements for Strus in the starting lineup so far this season. If and when Strus reclaims his starting spot and everyone’s healthy, they’ll be part of the second unit.
Nets Discussing Johnson, Finney-Smith, Schröder Trades; Warriors Have Interest
Nets veterans Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dennis Schröder have all generated trade interest early this season, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link), who reports that Brooklyn has begun to have exploratory discussions involving the trio.
The Warriors are among the clubs that have expressed interest in those three players, sources tell Charania, who adds that rival teams believe Golden State is willing to use De’Anthony Melton‘s $12.8MM expiring contract and draft assets in a trade. Melton suffered a season-ending ACL injury last month.
While the wording of Charania’s report suggests Golden State has expressed interest in all three of those Nets trade candidates, Johnson looks to me like a less likely target for the Warriors. He has a $22.5MM cap hit and another $4.5MM in unlikely incentives that count toward the tax aprons, which could be problematic for a Warriors team operating right up against its hard cap.
Besides being a complicated fit from a salary perspective, Johnson is the player (of those three Nets) whose skill set overlaps least with Melton’s, so if Golden State is seeking a replacement for its injured guard, he’s not an obvious fit. But he’s off to a great start this season — his 18.8 points per game, 48.8% field goal percentage, and 43.4% three-point percentage would all be career highs.
Finney-Smith ($14.9MM) and Schröder ($13MM) have salaries in the range of Melton’s and have more in common with the 26-year-old guard on the court. Finney-Smith is a solid, versatile defender capable of knocking down three-point shots (a career-best 43.2% this season), while Schröder is a talented ball-handler, scorer, and play-maker whose 38.5% three-point rate and 2.5 three-pointers per game this season are career highs.
Besides having more modest cap hits, Finney-Smith and Schröder also have shorter-term contracts than Johnson. Schröder will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 while Finney-Smith can join him by turning down his 2025/26 player option worth $15.4MM. Johnson’s contract runs through the 2026/27 season.
The Nets project to have the most cap room of any NBA team during the 2025 offseason, so they’ll likely try to avoid taking on multiyear contracts in any deal involving Finney-Smith and/or Schröder.
Besides registering interest in role players like the Nets’ trio, the Warriors remain interested in adding a star – ideally a play-maker and scorer – who could complement Stephen Curry, Charania reiterates.
Charania made a similar point during an NBA Today appearance last week, noting that Golden State will try to determine in the two months leading up to the February 6 trade deadline whether forward Jonathan Kuminga can become that sort of impact player or whether the club will need to keep trying to acquire a star via trade. The Warriors expressed trade interest over the summer in both Paul George and Lauri Markkanen.
Heat Open To Listening To Offers For Jimmy Butler
The Heat are open to listening to trade inquiries on star forward Jimmy Butler and making a deal if they get an offer they like, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link).
Reporting in the wake of Miami’s elimination from the 2024 playoffs indicated that Butler would be seeking a maximum-salary extension during the offseason. Asked about that possibility during his end-of-season press conference, president of basketball operations Pat Riley expressed reluctance to make that sort of financial investment in a player “unless you have someone who is going to be available every night,” a reference to Butler’s injury issues in recent seasons.
Butler subsequently decided to put off extension discussions and remain with the Heat rather than pushing for a trade.
As Charania writes, the 35-year-old still has a strong affinity for Miami and has been professional throughout this season, but with the Heat having hovered around play-in territory for the last couple years and Butler potentially reaching free agency at season’s end, the front office has been “open-minded” about trade inquires.
According to Charania, Butler’s agent Bernie Lee has made it clear in league circles that Butler would be open to destinations like the Rockets, Mavericks, and Warriors. While Butler is a Texas native, his top priority in the event of a trade is believed to be joining a team capable of contending for a championship.
Teams, including the Heat, have been informed that Butler intends to turn down his $52.4MM player option for the 2025/26 season in order to become a free agent next summer, sources tell ESPN. Still, given that few teams project to have significant cap room in 2025, the club that has Butler on its roster at the end of the season would likely be the favorite to re-sign him, since that club would hold his Bird rights.
Butler has missed five games for health reasons so far this season, but has been effective in his 17 outings, averaging 19.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 32.1 minutes per game, with a .557/.360/.787 shooting line. The Heat have gone 10-7 in the games he has played and have a record of 2-3 when he’s been out.
Knicks Notes: Brunson, Sims, Barrett, Towns
Jalen Brunson‘s scoring average is down from his career high of 28.7 points per game in 2023/24 to 25.2 PPG through his first 24 games this season, but the Knicks star is otherwise playing even better than he did a year ago, when he finished fifth in MVP voting, contends James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.
Brunson’s shooting percentages are up to 49.6% from the floor and a career-best 43.2% on three-pointers. And perhaps most notably, he’s averaging a career-high 7.8 assists per game. That can be attributed in part to playing with another elite scorer and shooter like Karl-Anthony Towns and in part to Brunson’s improving ability to deal with defenses that have employed blitzes, hedges, and double-teams in an effort to slow him down.
“It’s been happening a lot more recently,” Brunson said of that defensive pressure. “I’ve always worked on stuff like that. I just like to trust my reads and my instincts.”
If Brunson continues to play like he has so far, he figures to show up on plenty of MVP ballots again in the spring, but he and head coach Tom Thibodeau are more focused on making sure the Knicks continue to generate efficient shots and win games. New York’s offensive rating is an NBA-best 121.0 and the team continues to move up the standings in the Eastern Conference, sitting at 15-9 after a win over Toronto last night.
“(Brunson)’s 10, 11 (assists) every night now,” Thibodeau said on Monday, per Edwards. “He’s creating a lot of good offense for us. Everyone shares in that responsibility. Read the game and don’t hold on to the ball too long. If you’re open, I want you to shoot. If you’re not open, I don’t want you to overdribble, either. Just read what they’re doing. When you have players who play for each other and play unselfishly, you’re going to get high-percentage shots from that.”
We have more on the Knicks:
- After playing just three minutes on Thursday and six on Saturday, Jericho Sims was a DNP-CD on Monday in Toronto for the first time this season, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. As Bondy notes, Sims has played strong defense for the Knicks this fall, but looked lost on offense in his previous two outings. As long as Precious Achiuwa is available, Sims may not be a regular part of Thibodeau’s rotation.
- Raptors forward RJ Barrett, who faced his former team on Monday nearly a year after being traded from New York to Toronto, told reporters that he wasn’t shocked when he was moved: “You can tell when you’re treated a certain way.” As Bondy observes, Barrett’s shot attempts and scoring average declined during his final year with the Knicks as he became a third option on offense behind Brunson and Julius Randle. “Lots of stuff (gave me that vibe that I was going to be traded). Lots of stuff,” Barrett said. “I think I just got a vibe, kind of figured. I wasn’t really too surprised when it happened.”
- John Calipari, who coached Towns at Kentucky, helped the former Wildcat get over the initial shock of being traded from Minnesota to New York earlier this fall, as Bondy details in a separate New York Post story. “First of all, you’re surprised when you’re an All-Star and you’re traded. And then the second thing is, you’re going to be hurt,” Calipari said. “Why did they do it? Why would they do it? And in the end, that’s why I told him, ‘Please, (the Knicks) are perfect for you. Don’t worry about all the other stuff. Move on. … No looking back. You’re not bitter. You’re on to the next thing.'”
Raptors Star Scottie Barnes Suffers Right Ankle Injury
Raptors star Scottie Barnes exited Monday’s game against the Knicks with what the team called a right ankle sprain, according to ESPN’s News Services. However, there is concern that the injury to his right ankle and foot could be more severe.
Barnes was helped off the court by teammates before hopping to the locker room, unable to put weight on his right foot. The injury occurred when he contested Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns‘s shot during the third quarter and Towns came down on Barnes’ foot near the basket (video link).
Initial X-rays were negative, according to head coach Darko Rajakovic, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. However, it’s anticipated Barnes will undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury. He’ll be reevaluated on Tuesday morning, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet adds (via Twitter).
Barnes has already missed 11 games this season due a right orbital fracture. He entered the game averaging 21 points, 8.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists per contest.
Barnes signed a five-year max extension and the contract’s value would increase if he made an All-NBA team this season. However, another extended absence would extinguish any chance of that happening due to the 65-game rule.
Western Notes: Flagler, Durant, Leonard, Ingram
Thunder two-way player Adam Flagler will miss four-to-six weeks due to a right fourth metacarpal fracture, Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman tweets.
The 25-year-old guard out of Baylor has appeared in 11 games with the Thunder this season. He’s averaged 1.4 points and 0.5 rebounds in 3.4 minutes per contest, having played almost exclusively in garbage time.
Flagler is a holdover from last season, as he originally signed his two-way deal in February. He was a critical contributor for the Oklahoma City Blue’s championship squad in 2023/24. In three G League contests this season, he has averaged 25.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 5.7 APG and 2.3 SPG.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Suns are 11-2 with Kevin Durant in uniform and 1-9 without him. Phoenix should be able to overcome Durant’s absences better than that, Gerald Bourguet of GoPhnx.com writes. Their futility in the games he’s missed is due in large part to Devin Booker‘s subpar efficiency and spotty defense, as well as Bradley Beal‘s inability to step up his game to fill the void, according to Bourguet.
- Kawhi Leonard appears to be progressing toward a return this month and it would be an ideal time to ease him back into the Clippers‘ lineup, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. The Clippers don’t have back-to-back games until New Year’s Day and will only play six games in the 21-day window that begins on Monday, which should help their injured players heal up. “He’s a defensive-minded guy who can guard the basketball, guard five different positions,” head coach Tyronn Lue said of Leonard. “For him coming into what we’re doing, it shouldn’t be hard for him to get involved.”
- Brandon Ingram‘s ankle injury, which will keep him out of action indefinitely, means the floundering Pelicans must soon make some difficult decisions, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. They must decide what to do with Ingram, a free agent after the season, and whether there’s still a trade market for him. They also must figure out what to do with their other oft-injured star, Zion Williamson.
Rockets Notes: Green, Thompson, Sengun, NBA Cup, VanVleet, Eason
The Rockets didn’t commit a turnover in the final 20 minutes of their win over the Clippers on Sunday despite the absence of Fred VanVleet, who is recovering from a right knee injury.
It was a very encouraging sign for coach Ime Udoka, who leaned on Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun to organize the offense, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes.
“He’s such a calming influence for the team, that kind of gets us into what we need to a lot,” Udoka said of VanVleet. “We still want guys to grow and learn that. So when he’s not out there, it’s good for us to do it a little bit more. We went to a few different guys to initiate offense.”
We have more on the Rockets:
- Houston will face the Warriors in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday. It’s possible that VanVleet could return to action for the tournament game. Forward Tari Eason, who has missed the last two games while in concussion protocol, could also return Wednesday, according to Feigen.
- Thompson already sees himself as a top-notch defender in his second NBA season, he told Mark Medina of Sportskeeda. “I view myself as one of the best defenders. Obviously, I think it’s very hard to score on me. I think my presence is known on defense,” he said.
- Udoka made several stops in Europe during his playing career. He has some “overseas” advice for Turkish native Sengun, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays. “My biggest thing with him is, I say to him, ‘Don’t get the European out of your game. Play through stuff. Stop crying,’” Udoka said.
Mavericks Notes: NBA Cup, Lively, Grimes, Prosper
The Mavericks visit the Thunder on Tuesday in an NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup. The winner goes to Las Vegas for the semifinals, while the loser gets knocked out of the tournament.
“I think it’s great to be able to play to go to Vegas tomorrow,” coach Jason Kidd said, per Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com. “This is the second year and it’s our first year being involved this far. It’s a great measuring stick on the road against the best team in the West. I think it’s great for both organizations, a great test for both teams.”
Dereck Lively, who played at Duke, compared it to an NCAA Tournament game.
“It brings me back to my Tournament days, trying to be as competitive as possible, trying to bring as much energy, as much discipline and as much focus as we can to these games. There’s a lot on the line,” he said.
We have more on the Mavs:
- Quentin Grimes says that being teammates with veteran guard Klay Thompson has been a learning experience. “Watching Klay has been huge for me,” Grimes told Grant Afseth in a Sportskeeda post. “Whether he’s having a great shooting night or a rough one, he has no conscience—he keeps shooting like it’s going to go in every time. That’s big for shooters like me. Seeing his consistency and his mentality, where every shot is taken with confidence, has helped me focus on impacting the game and trusting my work. The shots will fall because of the effort you put in.” Grimes, a restricted free agent after the season, is shooting a career-best 42.3% from 3-point range.
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper continues to have a limited role in his second NBA season. The 24th pick of the 2023 draft has seen 10-plus minutes of action in each of the last two games and will look to build off of that. “My game is predicated on energy and effort,” Prosper told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “When I come in, I try to impact game in those ways. I feel like now, every day, whether I’m playing or not playing, is a growth opportunity for me. What I see out there, I try to apply when I get on the court. It’s a long season, a long journey, and I stay the course and learn every game, whether or not I’m playing.”
- In case you missed it, Luka Doncic was named Western Conference Player of the Week. Get the details here.
Eastern Notes: Ball, Mobley, Heat, K. Johnson
There was some skepticism coming into the season about whether Lonzo Ball would be healthy enough to play – and what sort of impact he’d have – for the Bulls after being sidelined due to knee issues for two-and-a-half years. Ball has only appeared in eight of 25 games, but his multi-week absence was the result of a new wrist injury rather than his surgically repaired knee, which the Bulls guard says has held up just fine so far, as Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times relays.
“To be honest, I’m a lot better than I thought I was going to be, early on for sure,” Ball said, referring to both his knee and his defense. “There’s still some mishaps, definitely on the ball sometimes. But for the most part I feel comfortable out there. I feel like I haven’t really missed a beat, so I just try and give good minutes when I’m out there.”
As Cowley writes, the positive effect that Ball has on Chicago’s lineup has been apparent even in his limited playing time. The club has a +6.5 net rating in his 134 minutes on the court; the team’s net rating is just -5.4 in the 1,066 minutes he hasn’t played. That’s easily the biggest on/off-court disparity among Bulls players who have logged at least 100 minutes.
According to head coach Billy Donovan, Ball’s minutes restriction was recently increased to 20 minutes per game (Twitter link via Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune). As long as he remains healthy, that limit should continue to increase.
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- The ankle injury Evan Mobley suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Heat isn’t considered serious, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required), who notes that the Cavaliers big man told reporters after the game he was “good.” The Cavs play just one game in the next week, giving Mobley some time to heal, which is good news, since it was evident in the second half on Sunday how much they need him on defense. “He is one of the top five defensive players in the league,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “You lose a guy like that and we had to play some small ball with Dean (Wade) at the five. He was fine, but they just took it to us. We had some spurts because of our talent. But not good enough.”
- Sunday’s game was another good one for the Heat‘s current starting lineup of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and Haywood Highsmith. As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald observes, substituting Robinson and Highsmith in place of Terry Rozier and Nikola Jovic has made a huge different for the team — the new-look starting five has a net rating of +20.8 in 118 minutes together, whereas the old group was -20.8 in 91 minutes. “We got a lot of firepower,” Herro said of the current starting five. “Duncan brings a different element to the lineup. He’s able to create so many different advantages, which has opened up the court for me, Bam and Jimmy. Having Haywood out there as a defensive presence, you don’t have to put me or Duncan on one of the best players. It makes sense.”
- It was an eventful week for Heat two-way rookie Keshad Johnson, who made his NBA debut last Monday and was named the G League Player of the Week last Tuesday, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. While Johnson has only made two brief appearances for Miami at the NBA level, the team loves the way the forward has impacted winning with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, according to Erik Spoelstra. “He’s done some dynamic things in terms of his scoring, getting to the rim, his three-point spacing has improved,” the Heat coach said. “Defensively, he’s played a lot of dynamic small ball five. He’s been able to switch and guard different kinds of guys. All of that has been good for his development.”