Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 12/3/2024
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included RJ Barrett's omission from ESPN's 25 under 25 list, Josh Giddey's next contract, a possible new home for Dorian Finney-Smith, predictions for the next stage of the NBA Cup and more!
Injury Notes: Sochan, Embiid, Henderson, R. Williams, Wade
Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan appears set to take on the court on Tuesday night for the first time in nearly a month, having been listed as probable for San Antonio’s NBA Cup game in Phoenix, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.
Sochan has been sidelined since November 4, missing the Spurs’ past 13 games due to a fractured thumb that required surgery.
The former ninth overall pick appeared to be taking an impressive step forward prior to the injury. In his six full games this season, he averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 32.2 minutes per night, with a 50.6% field goal percentage.
The Spurs have been playing well lately with rookie Stephon Castle starting in place of Sochan, having won five of their past six games, so we’ll see if Sochan reclaims his spot in the lineup upon his return or if acting head coach Mitch Johnson has him come off the bench.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- Sixers star Joel Embiid remains listed as out for Tuesday’s game in Charlotte due to left knee injury management and personal reasons, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The team hasn’t provided any sort of timeline for Embiid’s return, but this will be the fifth consecutive contest the big man has missed.
- Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson underwent an MRI this week on the quad injury that has forced him to miss three games, including the past two, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. However, that MRI didn’t show anything more than a contusion, so Henderson is considered day-to-day and is listed as questionable to play in Los Angeles on Tuesday vs. the Clippers. Blazers center Robert Williams, however, didn’t make the trip to L.A. and will miss a fourth straight game while he remains in the concussion protocol, Highkin adds.
- Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, who has been unavailable for the past six games due to a left ankle sprain, is listed as questionable to play vs. Washington on Tuesday and was in attendance for today’s shootaround, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter links). According to Fedor, Wade – whose +12.9 net rating ranks second among Cavs players – wanted to play on Sunday vs. Boston and went through a 3-on-3 workout on Monday in the hopes of showing Cleveland’s training staff that he’s ready to return.
Northwest Notes: Timberwolves, Gordon, George, Jazz
The legal battle that will determine who controls the Timberwolves won’t be resolved until January at the earliest, sources tell Eben Novy-Williams and Michael McCann of Sportico.
As Sportico’s duo explains, the legal representatives for current team owner Glen Taylor and prospective owners Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez will answer “final questions of clarification” from the three-person arbitration panel handling the case in early January. The panel isn’t expected to make its final ruling on the matter until sometime after those questions are answered.
Even when the arbitration process concludes, it likely won’t fully close the books on the Timberwolves’ ownership fight. Novy-Williams and McCann point out that the losing side could petition a federal judge to vacate the arbitration award. Additionally, if the arbitrators rule in favor of Lore and Rodriguez, the new ownership group would still need to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- It has been a challenging start to the season for the Timberwolves, but there was no bad body language and there were no concerning post-game quotes after a blowout victory over the Lakers on Monday night. Chris Hine of The Star Tribune has the story on the encouraging win and the good vibes it created.
- In his first game back after missing 10 games due to a calf strain, Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon came off the bench on a minutes limit on Sunday and served as Nikola Jokic‘s backup, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. While Gordon has been far more effective as the second-string center than Dario Saric, Zeke Nnaji, or DeAndre Jordan have – Denver was +3 with Jokic off the court vs. the Clippers – he’s the least sustainable option to continue as the backup five over a full 82-game season, given his typical role alongside Jokic, Durando notes.
- Outside of his subpar shooting percentages (.375 FG%, .336 3PT%), turnovers and defense have also been issues for Keyonte George, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, who suggests that the second-year Jazz guard hasn’t inspired confidence as a ball-handling point guard and doesn’t shoot well enough to be a full-time shooting guard. George is still just 21 years old and works hard, Larsen writes, but will have to make significant strides to become the player the Jazz hoped they were getting when he was drafted in 2023.
- Jazz head coach Will Hardy conceded he made a mistake in calling a timeout on Sunday before Collin Sexton had a chance to attempt what would’ve been a go-ahead basket in the final seconds of Utah’s game vs. the Lakers (Twitter video link). After the game, Sexton said he understood why Hardy made the decision he did and didn’t blame him at all. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, while the one-point loss was a tough pill to swallow, the mature way the moment was handled showed there’s trust between the head coach and his players, an important sign in a challenging rebuilding year.
Sixers Sign Pete Nance To Two-Way Deal, Waive Quinones
DECEMBER 3: The Sixers have officially signed Nance and waived Quinones, the team announced today in a press release.
DECEMBER 2: The Sixers have agreed to a two-way contract with Pete Nance, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps tweets.
Nance is the younger brother of veteran NBA forward Larry Nance Jr. Pete has played eight games this season in the G League’s Showcase Cup for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate. He’s averaging 18.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest.
The 6’10” Nance also played in the NBAGL for most of last season. He made eight NBA appearances with the Cavs but averaged just 3.4 minutes in those games.
Nance participated in camp with the Cavs this fall, but was waived in October. He signed a two-way contract with Cleveland in February but wasn’t offered another one. He went undrafted in 2023.
With centers Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond sidelined by injuries and — in Embiid’s case — personal reasons, the Sixers were seeking another frontcourt option in the short run.
As our two-way contract tracker shows, Philadelphia has three players currently signed to two-ways and will have to drop one of them to make room for Nance. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the odd man out will be guard Lester Quinones.
Quinones, who has appeared in four games with the Sixers this season, signed a two-way contract in September after playing for Golden State last season.
Redick, Lakers Reconsidering LeBron James’ Plan To Play 82 Games
When LeBron James stated during the opening week of the regular season that he was aiming to play in all 82 games this season, Lakers head coach JJ Redick expressed support for that goal. However, with James mired in a slump and the Lakers struggling, Redick indicated after Monday’s loss to Minnesota that he may revisit that plan.
“I don’t know that’s in the best interest of him and us if he does that, but if he’s feeling well and feeling good, then he should play,” Redick said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “But we obviously want to … manage that as best we can.”
After scoring just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting and committing six turnovers on Monday, James is now averaging 16.8 points and five turnovers per game with a .398/.100/.857 shooting line in his past six outings. The Lakers, whose 118.3 offensive rating ranked fourth in the NBA through their first 15 games, have a 102.4 mark in those six games, the league’s third-worst mark since November 23.
While it’s possible James would benefit from the occasional rest day – Monday’s performance came on the second night of a back-to-back – his recent slump hasn’t been the sole cause of the Lakers’ offensive struggles. Star big man Anthony Davis, who made just 4-of-14 shot attempts in the loss to the Timberwolves, cited “bad” spacing and referred to the team’s overall performance as “disgusting.” James agreed, calling L.A.’s offense “nasty right now,” per McMenamin.
“I’ve not seen us play the way we played earlier in the year,” Redick said. “I mean, I’ve got to spend all day (Tuesday) with my staff trying to figure out how we get back to that.”
As Jovan Buha of The Athletic writes, a Lakers defense that ranked near the bottom of the league during the season’s first month has been a little more effective lately, but the improvement on the defensive end hasn’t made up for the drop-off on offense.
“I really believe we’ve gotten better defensively,” Redick said. “And I think we’ve spent a lot of time as a staff defensively. And this is the nature of the NBA season. You don’t have a ton of time. The things you emphasize, hopefully, you get better at. And sometimes when you don’t emphasize something, or you don’t work on something because you don’t necessarily have time, or you think you’re good at it and you think you have buy-in at it, you just get slippage. We gotta clean that up.”
The Lakers still have a solid 12-9 record, but that’s only good for the No. 8 spot in a competitive Western Conference and gives the club just a 1.5-game cushion on the No. 11 Wolves. Given that the playoff race figures to remain tight all season, how does James, who will turn 40 later this month, feel about relenting on his plan to play all 82 games?
“That’s a goal, but, we’ll see,” James said, according to McMenamin. “It’s something I ain’t discussing right now.”
Pacific Notes: Harden, Nurkic, Durant, Ighodaro, Dunn, Green, Monk
The Clippers re-signed James Harden on a two-year deal over the summer. It has turned into a wise move, as Harden has dominated games in Kawhi Leonard‘s absence.
Harden had 39 points in a 126-122 win against the Nuggets on Sunday. Last week, he erupted for a season-high 43 points in a road win against the Wizards.
“I’m feeling a lot better,” Harden told The Athletic’s Law Murray. “My role has changed. You know, I haven’t had this role in, four or five years. So it just took me some time to get there. But you guys can see us, game by game, I continue to get better.”
We have more from around the Pacific:
- Suns center Jusuf Nurkic has been ruled out for at least a week due to a right thigh contusion, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic tweets. Nurkic has appeared in 16 games this season, averaging 8.9 points and 9.9 rebounds. Nurkic has a four-year, $70MM contract that runs through next season.
- Suns forward Kevin Durant has been impressed with the contributions of rookies Oso Ighodaro and Ryan Dunn, Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports tweets. Dunn only attempted two shots in 20 minutes in a win over Golden State on Saturday but contributed four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Ighodaro played 31 minutes off the bench and added six points and eight rebounds. “We expect that out of them. I think that’s what they bring to our team is that energy, that aggressiveness on defense, that physicality on defense….They’re setting a high standard for themselves every night,” Durant said.
- Warriors forward Draymond Green didn’t practice Monday in Denver due to left calf tightness, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. He’s doubtful to play against the Nuggets on Tuesday, according to coach Steve Kerr, Slater tweets. Green hasn’t missed a game yet this season after appearing in just 55 regular season contests last season.
- Malik Monk, one of the league’s top sixth men, made his first start since joining the Kings on Sunday. He played 37 minutes and supplied 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists but the Kings fell to San Antonio. Monk hadn’t started since he was in the Lakers’ lineup 37 times in 2021/22.
Lakers Notes: James, Vincent, Russell, Jackson, Knecht
The Lakers notched a one-point win over Utah and it was an old-school game of sorts for LeBron James. His usage rate is down noticeably this season but coach JJ Redick put the ball in his hands regularly in the second half and he attempted 14 fourth-quarter shots.
“We really slowed things down in the second half and tried to get the matchup we wanted for LeBron to just handle in that pick-and-roll,” Redick said, per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “And truthfully, that was the best offense we were going to generate. So whether we missed or made it, we just kept going to that. I thought we got some clean looks that could have given us a little bit more of a cushion. But I liked our execution offensively.”
We have more on the Lakers:
- Gabe Vincent, thrust into the lineup on Sunday due to the absence of Austin Reaves (left pelvic contusion), scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. It was Vincent’s first double-digit scoring outing in his 30 regular-season games as a Laker, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. Vincent joined the Lakers as a free agent on a three-year, $33MM contract prior to last season.
- Vincent’s stint as a starter didn’t last long. D’Angelo Russell replaced him in the lineup against Minnesota on Monday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets.
- Los Angeles will likely look to include Vincent as a salary filler with draft pick compensation in trade talks, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype reports. The Lakers could potentially dangle Vincent and future second-round picks in a deal for Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas, a coveted Lakers target, Scotto adds.
- The Lakers announced last month that they’ve commissioned a statue of former coach and player Pat Riley on their Star Plaza. It’s expected to be a prelude to an eventual announcement about a statue for another former coach, Phil Jackson, Marc Stein reports in a Substack article. Riley coached the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s, while Jackson coached the Lakers to five.
- The Lakers have been searching for years to find a dead-eye shooter to complement James. They may have finally found that player in rookie wing Dalton Knecht. “We, as a front office, have sort of chased in theory the exact player he is, a movement shooter,” Lakers vice president of basketball operations and GM Rob Pelinka told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And then not only is he a movement shooter, but a movement shooter with athleticism, which is a really unique combination.”
Mavericks Notes: Gafford, Lively, Doncic, Irving, Thompson, Grimes
The Mavericks have fielded some inquiries regarding Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively but haven’t shown any interest in trading either big man, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports.
However, the Mavericks could be active in the trade market. They could seek potential upgrades by parting with their 2025 first-round pick or their 2031 first-rounder. They could also add a young piece such as Quentin Grimes and Olivier-Maxence Prosper in a trade package, Scotto notes.
Dallas is approximately $5.3MM above the luxury tax but might be able to drop below that figure if it is able to deal Maxi Kleber, Scotto adds. He’ll make $11MM this season, with a matching cap hit for 2025/26.
We have more on the Mavs:
- Luka Doncic returned from a wrist injury on Sunday and racked up 36 points and 13 assists against the Trail Blazers. He posted on social media that it was “great” to be back from a five-game absence. Doncic complimented the team on how it performed without him. “Obviously, I think their pace was great. They were playing amazing,” Doncic said, per ESPN News Services. “So, [I was] just trying to adapt to that. They beat some tough teams, and I was just happy to sit back, watch and enjoy.”
- Dallas defeated Portland despite having several other starters and rotation players sidelined. Kyrie Irving (right shoulder soreness), Lively (right knee hyperextension), Klay Thompson (left foot plantar fascia), Naji Marshall (illness) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) all missed the game, the Mavs PR department tweets.
- Grimes, who joined Dallas in the offseason trade with Detroit, has been on a hot streak of late. He’s averaged 24.3 points over the last three games. “I’m glad to see my confidence growing,” Grimes told Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “I’m just playing downhill, not overthinking, and focusing on helping on both ends of the floor.” Grimes will be a restricted free agent after the season, as he and the team were unable to reach a rookie scale extension by the October deadline.
Western Rumors: Kings, Grant, Kessler, Moody, Looney, Rockets, A. Mitchell
The Kings are off to a disappointing 9-12 start this season, already 2.5 games back of a play-in spot in the Western Conference, prompting executives around the NBA to keep an eye on the situation in Sacramento to see if the front office will make another move to try to upgrade its roster, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Citing a “heightened sense of urgency” in Sacramento, Scotto suggests that teams talking to the Kings will be eager to see if the club is willing to part with first-round picks, rookie Devin Carter, or perhaps former No. 4 overall pick Keegan Murray, who has essentially been off the table in trade discussions in recent years.
For now, it seems safe to assume that the Kings will dangle Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles in trade talks, according to Scotto, who points out that both players were also available last season. Between Huerter’s $16.8MM cap hit and Lyles’ $8MM expiring deal, Sacramento could get to about $25MM in matching salary and then sweeten an offer from there by adding draft capital and/or a young player.
Here are a few more Western Conference rumors from Scotto:
- Although Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant and Jazz center Walker Kessler are both considered potential trade candidates, Portland has been unwilling to move Grant without getting two first-round picks back and Utah has sought at least two first-rounders for Kessler, Scotto writes. Teams with interest in Grant and Kessler have viewed the Blazers’ and Jazz’s asking prices as too high, Scotto notes.
- Moses Moody signed a three-year contract extension with the Warriors before the season, but his role hasn’t increased at all, leading to speculation that he’s a player to monitor as a possible trade chip, says Scotto. “Moody could be part of a package in a bigger deal, and (head coach) Steve Kerr still doesn’t play him 20 minutes a game,” one league executive told HoopsHype. Moody would be subject to the poison pill provision if he’s dealt this season, which wouldn’t preclude a trade but would make it more complicated.
- The Knicks, Thunder, and Grizzlies had “exploratory” trade interest in Warriors center Kevon Looney during the offseason before they addressed frontcourt holes in other ways, Scotto reports. Looney, who is on an $8MM expiring contract, has been Golden State’s leading rebounder (7.6 RPG) despite playing just 14.9 minutes per night.
- Despite reports insisting the Rockets aren’t looking to break up their young core to acquire a player like Kevin Durant or Giannis Antetokounmpo, many rival executives believe it’s just a matter of when – not if – Houston makes a big splash on the trade market, according to Scotto. Those execs believe Jalen Green won’t be off limits in future Rockets trade talks, even after signing a three-year, $105MM+ contract extension in October.
- Thunder rookie Ajay Mitchell, who has impressed in a rotation role this fall, is considered a strong candidate to be promoted from his two-way contract to the standard roster later this season, per Scotto. Oklahoma City currently has a full 15-man roster, but has some flexibility with its last roster spot, which is held by Branden Carlson on a non-guaranteed deal.
Pacers Notes: Nembhard, McConnell, Mathurin, Turner, Toppin, Walker, Freeman
The Pacers fell to 9-12 on Sunday with a 15-point loss in Memphis, but Andrew Nembhard‘s return from a right knee issue was a positive development for the club. As Dustin Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star, Nembhard’s solid play on a minutes limit provided a reminder of what Indiana was missing when he was sidelined for 12 games.
The third-year guard scored 14 points to go along with four assists and two steals in just 15 minutes of action. He was a team-high +5 on the night, making him the only Indiana starter with a positive plus/minus rating. Nembhard played eight minutes in the first quarter as the Pacers built an early 45-28 lead over the Grizzlies.
“He’s a big reason we got off to the start that we did,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “Defensively, he was really solid. Offensively, he made plays, had a couple layups, a couple threes. He just knows how to play. He knows how to play with (Tyrese Haliburton). It’s obvious that we missed him.”
With Nembhard out, opposing defenses have increasingly keyed on Haliburton, sending double-teams his way and guarding him with increased physicality. Haliburton is optimistic that the return of a talented play-maker and shooter like Nembhard will put the Pacers in a better position to attack those defensive schemes.
“Good to have him back, of course, he’s a big part of what we do here,” Haliburton said. “Good to see him healthy and looking forward to having his minutes growing going forward. … They’re doing a lot of denying. I’m sure a lot of teams are going to follow this blueprint moving forward. We just have to be solution-based and figure out what that is, how to attack it the right way. I thought in the first quarter we did.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Indiana guards T.J. McConnell and Bennedict Mathurin have drawn “significant” trade interest from potential suitors over the years, but the Pacers have consistently rebuffed those inquiries, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who notes that McConnell has been an important veteran leader and Mathurin is still viewed as having All-Star upside. After knocking off some rust to open the season, Mathurin, 22, has averaged 20.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game with a .478/.438/.863 shooting line in his last 17 appearances (16 starts).
- While teams across the NBA have long coveted center Myles Turner, there’s a belief that Indiana wants to re-sign him, Scotto writes. The Pacers won’t be able to extend Turner before he reaches unrestricted free agency in 2025, but will control his Bird rights at that time, allowing them to go as high as they need to.
- There’s a belief around the league that the Pacers could eventually move either Obi Toppin or Jarace Walker, since the two power forwards are playing relatively limited roles behind starting power forward Pascal Siakam, Scotto says. Despite some early-season injuries to starters, Toppin is averaging just 20.0 minutes per game while Walker is playing 17.8 MPG.
- Two-way player Enrique Freeman is a candidate to have his contract converted to a standard deal after the trade deadline, league sources tell Scotto. Freeman has played a relatively modest role so far, while Quenton Jackson has been the more notable two-way standout for the Pacers this fall. In order to promote either one, Indiana would need to make room on a 15-man roster that is currently full. That could be achieved by making a two-for-one trade or by cutting a player.