Jalen McDaniels

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Thybulle, Reed, McDaniels

March 12th, 2023 at 9:04am CST by Luke Adams

Already the NBA’s leading scorer, Sixers star Joel Embiid has taken his offensive game to another level since the All-Star break, averaging an eye-popping 35.1 points and 4.4 assists per night on .549/.400/.838 shooting in his last eight games (35.9 MPG). His latest signature performance came on Friday vs. Portland, when he racked up 39 points and made a game-winning basket in the final seconds of the game.

“That’s why he’s MVP of the league this year,” teammate James Harden said.

Much of the Most Valuable Player discourse as of late has focused on Nikola Jokic, who is the best player on the West’s best team and is positioning himself for a third consecutive consecutive MVP award. However, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Embiid – the runner-up in 2021 and 2022 – is building a strong case of his own, scoring nearly nine points per game more than Jokic and dominating on both ends of the floor.

While Pompey acknowledges that Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, and especially Giannis Antetokounmpo are worthy MVP candidates, he believes it’s once again shaping up to be a two-man race between the Sixers’ and Nuggets’ star centers, and he favors Embiid at this point.

Here’s more out of Philadelphia:

Facing former teammate Matisse Thybulle on Friday for the first time since the fourth-year wing was traded to Portland last month, Embiid said he told Thybulle he “kinda was not happy with some of the comments that were made lately,” according to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. Thybulle has spoken multiple times since being dealt about feeling more comfortable with his new team than he did in Philadelphia. Embiid said on Friday that “playing in Philly is not easy” and comes with a lot of pressure, though as Carlin observes, Thybulle’s comments about his “fear-based play” as a Sixer were more about how the team was handling his minutes than about the championship expectations in Philadelphia.
The Sixers have rotated through multiple players at backup center this season, but Paul Reed has been establishing himself lately as the go-to option in that role. As Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes, head coach Doc Rivers believes Reed is building chemistry with his teammates – including Harden – and has a better grasp of his role than he did earlier in the year. Reed will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
A Sixer for just over a month, Jalen McDaniels is becoming an important rotation player for the club, says Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. As Levick details, Rivers suggested he’s looking for ways to get McDaniels more minutes at different positions, adding that he’s confident in the forward’s shooting ability despite his modest results (3-of-10 three-pointers) since joining the 76ers. “He’s a way better shooter than we thought,” Rivers said. “He can shoot the ball. It’s not great results yet, but you’ll see ‘em. You can just tell by the way he shoots the ball.”

Trade Breakdown: Josh Hart To The Knicks (Four-Team Deal)

March 5th, 2023 at 12:58pm CST by Rory Maher

This is the fifth entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2022/23 season. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a deal four-team deal involving the Knicks, Trail Blazers, Sixers and Hornets.

On February 9:

The Knicks acquired Josh Hart, the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic, and the draft rights to Daniel Diez (all from Trail Blazers).
The Trail Blazers acquired Matisse Thybulle, Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), and the draft rights to Ante Tomic (from Knicks).
The Sixers acquired Jalen McDaniels, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (from Hornets), and the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick.
The Hornets acquired Svi Mykhailiuk, either the Hornets’, Hawks’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Sixers), and either the Pelicans’ or Trail Blazers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Trail Blazers).
Note: The Hornets had traded away their 2023 second-round pick in a prior deal.

Note: The Blazers, Sixers and Hornets all generated traded player exceptions in this deal, which can be found here.

The Knicks’ perspective:

Any time you deal away a first-round pick, even if it’s lottery-protected, ideally you want to re-sign the player you’re acquiring, particularly a player who can become a free agent in the offseason like Hart. The Knicks almost certainly would not have made this deal for 25 games of Hart – you can bet that they intend to bring him back, and they have his Bird rights, meaning they won’t require cap room to sign him.

Hart has already said multiple times that he’s looking for a home, is tired of moving, and hopes to remain with New York. That would certainly suggest that there’s mutual interest in the veteran wing sticking with the Knicks, even if the they haven’t publicly said anything about it.

I liked Hart’s fit with the Knicks when the trade was announced, and he has played very well for New York — the team is undefeated in his eight games. He’s averaging 11.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals on .618/.600/.667 shooting in 27.0 MPG thus far.

Obviously, those shooting splits are unsustainable, but Hart has a lot of desirable qualities that mesh well with the players on the roster. One interesting wrinkle is that Hart has been closing games over RJ Barrett, which I think is smart from head coach Tom Thibodeau – Hart is a better defender and doesn’t need the ball on offense. We’ll see if it continues going forward.

Hart has always struck me as a player Thibodeau would love because he plays with maximum effort, chasing after loose balls all over the court. He is a hard-nosed, versatile defensive player. He also is a solid passer on offense, even if he’s fairly limited as a half-court scorer.

The 27-year-old (he turns 28 on Monday) compensates for his relative lack of half-court scoring by being an absolute bull in transition, often pulling down rebounds and going coast-to-coast. He is one of the best rebounders in the league for a wing, particularly for his size (6’5”, 215 pounds), averaging 7.7 boards per game over the past three seasons.

There are two primary knocks against Hart. One is his all-out playing style has led to a number of injuries. He has missed an average of about 19 games per season in his five years leading up to 2022/23, though he has only been sidelined for three this season, not counting the two games missed due to the trade.

The second is that teams are going to dare him to shoot threes, as he’s only at 34.7% for his career from downtown (the league average is 36.0% this season). He was weirdly reluctant to shoot threes with Portland, going through long stretches where he would pass up wide-open shots. That inhibits offensive spacing and can be problematic when paired with a non-shooting big.

Still, he is a valuable role player who does a solid job defending against tough competition, and his ability to make plays for himself and others — especially on fast breaks — is a nice addition to the Knicks. They’re 27^th in pace, so he gives them some extra juice.

Reddish had not played in a game since December 3, and trading a protected first-rounder for him last year didn’t pan out. Arcidiacono and Mykhailiuk rarely saw the court, only playing a combined 66 minutes all season for New York. Trading away three players who weren’t contributing to the team’s on-court success for an impactful role player who almost immediately started closing games is a big deal, especially considering the Knicks have only made the playoffs once in the past nine years.

The Trail Blazers’ perspective:

Portland received a former first-round pick in Reddish and the Knicks’ lottery-protected first-rounder this season for a high-end role player in Hart. Arcidiacono was included for salary-matching purposes and is unlikely to have a role, but he’s not a bad fallback option as a third-string point guard – he takes care of the ball and is a decent shooter.

The Blazers also snagged Thybulle for a second-round pick (to Philly) and sent Charlotte another second-rounder to take a player they didn’t want (Mykhailiuk).

The primary reason the Blazers made this trade is that Hart has an odd contract and is expected to opt out of his player option in search of a long-term raise in free agency. Paying both Hart and Jerami Grant (UFA) would have pushed them into the luxury tax without other cost-cutting moves.

For as solid as Hart is, it’s not like Portland was going anywhere this season whether he was in the lineup or not. It’s a shame, because Damian Lillard has been phenomenal (he’s averaging a career-high 32.3 points with a 65.3 true shooting percentage — he’s at peak Stephen Curry levels of volume and efficiency), but the roster just isn’t good enough to do much beyond fighting for the back end of the play-in tournament.

As previously mentioned, Hart was oddly reluctant to shoot threes this season with the Blazers and I’m not really sure why. However, he will be missed for everything else he provides — most of their problems stem from rebounding and defense anyway, and he was one of their best players in both of those categories.

I like the Thybulle pickup and he looks like a good fit on the roster. He isn’t going to keep shooting 51.6% from beyond the arc like he has through seven games as a Blazer, but he was pigeonholed into a very narrow role with the Sixers and I believe he can provide more all-around value than he showed with them.

Thybulle is an absolute menace on defense and he knows that’s what he’s best at. A part-time wing player earning All-Defensive nods two seasons in a row is practically unheard of, but those awards were well deserved. The Blazers need all the help they can get on that end.

Reddish has now been dealt twice in a little over a year, with his value diminishing pretty drastically – the Knicks gave up a protected first-rounder to acquire him last year, but now moved him and a lottery-protected first to land Hart. The 23-year-old, who was the No. 10 overall pick in 2019, has yet to solidify himself as a solid NBA player.

Like Thybulle, Reddish has played well for Portland so far, averaging 14.1 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals on .470/.373/.941 shooting in eight games (27.7 minutes). Those numbers far exceed his career averages, which are pretty underwhelming (10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steal on .398/.327/.849 shooting in 161 games (24.7 minutes).

Both Thybulle and Reddish can be restricted free agents in the summer if the Blazers extend each of them a qualifying offer – I don’t think that’s a lock for either player, particularly Reddish.

The first-rounder Portland acquired from New York would currently land at No. 23 overall, which is decent. Definitely nothing to scoff at for a player on a pseudo-expiring contract whom the Blazers couldn’t reasonably afford to retain given the overall state of the team. If the Knicks go in a major slump to end the season and miss the playoffs — which seems extremely unlikely considering how hot they’ve been lately — the Blazers would instead receive four second-round picks.

Another aspect of this deal from Portland’s side is that it probably made them worse in the short term, which increases the odds of missing the playoffs and keeping their own lottery pick. The Blazers owe their pick to the Bulls if they make the postseason – if it doesn’t convey this year, the protections roll over to 2024 (it’s lottery-protected for several years, which makes it difficult for the team to trade future picks due to the Stepien rule).

The Hornets’ perspective:

Charlotte’s side of things is pretty straightforward. The Hornets were concerned about how much McDaniels would cost in unrestricted free agency and decided to move him and get something of value while they could.

I don’t think they necessarily wanted to trade McDaniels, especially after spending four years working with him on developing his game and seeing it start to pay off. Forwards who are 6’9″ with a bit of two-way versatility aren’t exactly common.

The problem is that Gordon Hayward is under contract through next season, the Miles Bridges situation still isn’t resolved, P.J. Washington will be a restricted free agent this summer, and Kelly Oubre is unrestricted. McDaniels is arguably the worst player of the group, making him relatively expendable.

The Hornets are almost certainly getting back their own 2023 second-rounder in the deal, which Philadelphia previously controlled and would currently land at No. 34 overall. Charlotte sent New York’s 2024 second-rounder to the Sixers as part of the multi-team agreement, which was slightly surprising, but if the Knicks are good again next year, that pick would land in the back half of the second round.

That No. 34 overall selection has real value and could be packaged with other seconds to move into the late first round this June. It could also be paired with Denver’s first-rounder (currently No. 28), which the Hornets control, to move up a little. Either way, it gives them more options in the upcoming draft and for trades.

The Hornets also picked up a 2027 second-rounder from Portland to take on Mykhailiuk’s salary. It’s reasonable to view that as a higher upside pick than the Knicks’ second-rounder they shipped to Philly. President of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak selected Mykhailiuk No. 47 overall back in 2016 when he was with the Lakers, so there is a connection there, but it seems unlikely that the veteran wing will have much of a role going forward.

The Sixers’ perspective:

The key takeaway from the Sixers’ side of things is they moved out of the luxury tax and arguably upgraded on the wing at the same time. I’m not sure I would take McDaniels over Thybulle in a vacuum, but it’s at worst debatable and he certainly provides length and positional size, which the team lacked.

Thybulle is a terrific defensive player, but he wasn’t consistently in the rotation this season due to his offensive limitations. He seemed to fall out of favor with the team after last year’s poor playoff showing, and the Sixers decided to trade him instead of letting him reach free agency.

McDaniels was averaging career highs in all the major counting stats for Charlotte, including points (10.6), rebounds (4.8), assists (2.0), steals (1.2) and minutes (26.7) per game. The 25-year old also hasn’t missed a game this season, which is impressive (he technically did miss one game due to the trade, but that was out of his control).

McDaniels doesn’t stand out in any one particular area, which is sort of a double-edged sword. It means he’s versatile enough to do a lot of different things on the court, but none at an elite level.

The big question mark with McDaniels is essentially the same as it was with Thybulle: can he make enough threes to stay on the court against top teams? With a roster loaded with talented scorers, other types of shots are hard to come by for role players like McDaniels. He is only at 34.1% for his career from deep, including 32.1% this season.

The Sixers picked up his Bird rights as part of the trade, giving them the ability to offer McDaniels more money and years than rival teams. For what they gave up, they likely aren’t committed to re-signing him though, nor should they be. They have the rest of the season to evaluate him and see how he does in the playoffs.

The 25-year-old’s minutes have been cut back pretty significantly since the trade, and his role is more in line with what it would be on a good team (which Philadelphia is). He was getting more run with the Hornets out of necessity due to injuries.

As previously mentioned, the Sixers basically swapped second-round picks with Charlotte, though the one they got back has far less upside. They also received Portland’s 2029 second-rounder for Thybulle — not much of a return, but he was only averaging 12.1 minutes per game with Philly this season and is on an expiring contract.

Sixers Notes: Tucker, Butler, McDaniels, Embiid

March 1st, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

P.J. Tucker seemed like a perfect fit during his lone season with the Heat, but he couldn’t turn down the three-year, $33MM offer he got from the Sixers last summer, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The 38-year-old forward said he expected to retire with Miami, but the realities of NBA business pushed him toward Philadelphia.

Multiple sources tell Chiang that the Heat wanted to re-sign Tucker, but they only offered $26.5MM over three seasons through their Non-Bird exception. Miami could have used its $10.5MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception to match the offer from Philadelphia, but passed on the opportunity because of Tucker’s age and the limits the deal would have placed on other potential moves.

“I wanted the full mid-level,” Tucker said. “I thought I deserved the full mid-level and that was something that I wanted. They knew that coming out of the gate. I expressed that I wanted that from the beginning. I feel like for what we did, for what we had, I feel like I deserved that and it just is what it is. But I don’t fault them at all. I understand they didn’t want to be hard-capped and wanted to be able to make moves later with whatever they thought the team may need.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

Jimmy Butler keeps reminding the Sixers why it was a mistake to trade him, observes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Butler knocked Philadelphia out of the playoffs last season, and he contributed several clutch plays on Monday as the Heat pulled out a narrow road win. Pompey notes that the Sixers haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since sending Butler to Miami in 2019.
Jalen McDaniels is learning to adjust after being traded to the Sixers at last month’s deadline, Pompey writes in another Inquirer story. Through six games, McDaniels is seeing less playing time and fewer scoring chances than he did with the Hornets. “I will say when I was in Charlotte, (there were) more opportunities with the ball in my hand more,” he said. “But here you have three guys (Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey) that are going to take most of the shots. So just me playing off them is something I can do that’s probably part of my game as well. So I feel like it’s a plus, even though I’m not touching it as much as I was in Charlotte.”
Joel Embiid has been through a series of demoralizing defeats during his time in Philadelphia, but he hasn’t demanded a trade or lost faith in the organization, as Ben Golliver of The Washington Post details.

Hornets Notes: Deadline Deals, 2023 FAs, Bridges, Rozier, Hayward

February 11th, 2023 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The fact that both Jalen McDaniels and Mason Plumlee were on track for unrestricted free agency this summer was a major factor in the Hornets‘ decision to trade them at Thursday’s deadline and get what draft assets they could for the duo, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said on Friday, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer.

“You don’t know what their value is going to be (in free agency),” Kupchak said. “They are both having great years. You don’t know what the market is going to look like (and) we have a bunch of other players that are also going to be free agents. So, something I’ve learned is you can’t pay everybody and these are hard decisions, especially Jalen.”

As Kupchak alludes to, other key Hornets players who are headed for free agency include forward P.J. Washington, wing Kelly Oubre, and big man Nick Richards. According to Boone, re-signing Washington is a priority and the team would like to retain Oubre. A new deal for Richards will be on Charlotte’s radar too, so the idea of also re-signing both Plumlee and McDaniels didn’t make sense for a team hoping to maintain some cap flexibility.

“When I got to Charlotte, we had, I don’t know, four or five contracts that all went out three or four years,” Kupchak said. “And made it difficult for us to navigate and get through the first two or three years and kind of wean ourselves away from those contracts. We’ve got to be careful that we don’t put ourselves in that same situation.

“Is Jalen a starter if Gordon (Hayward) comes back and we are looking at a very attractive draft pick?”

Here’s more from Kupchak, via Boone:

Although the Hornets could create a significant chunk of cap room this summer, Kupchak says he doesn’t anticipate the club being especially active on the free agent market. “The way we are going to get better is through the draft and player development, and then if we get lucky make a couple of savvy trades,” he said. “Every now and then, you might be able to get into the free agency market and get a player. And I’m hopeful that down the road a little bit we can become a very attractive team, even for a small market, and maybe we can get a big fish. But right now, I don’t think that’s how we have to look at it.”
According to Boone, it looks like the Hornets are waiting for the NBA’s investigation into the Miles Bridges situation to be resolved before they engage in possible contract talks with him. Accused of domestic abuse, Bridges took a plea deal to avoid jail time, but could still face a lengthy suspension depending on the outcome of the NBA’s probe. “I don’t know when the investigation is going to end,” Kupchak said. “When the investigation ends, we will have more information and we’ll go from there.”
Kupchak didn’t explicitly deny that Terry Rozier and Hayward came up in trade talks, but he said the Hornets weren’t actively looking to move either player and recognized well in advance of the deadline that’s not the direction they’d go. The front office was reluctant to majorly reconfigure the roster due in part to how many injuries the club has endured this season. “We’ve got to be careful not to assume that what happened this year is a fair representation of what this team really is,” Kupchak said. “If we were healthy this season relatively, and our team was intact, and we had the season that we are having right now, then it’s something that maybe you’ve got to make a big move, I didn’t feel, we didn’t feel, that the way this season played out to date that this season was something we had to react quickly on.”

Scotto’s Latest: McDaniels, Hornets, G. Williams, Nuggets

February 11th, 2023 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels drew significant trade interest around the NBA ahead of Thursday’s deadline, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who reports that about half of the league’s teams reached out to express interest in the 22-year-old.

However, after keeping him out of the Rudy Gobert blockbuster last summer, the Timberwolves continued to turn away inquiries on McDaniels. The front office views the third-year forward, who becomes extension-eligible during the coming offseason, as a member of the team’s core, Scotto writes.

McDaniels’ brother Jalen McDaniels was on the move this week, as the Hornets sent him to the Sixers in a four-team deal that also involved New York and Portland. According to Scotto, Charlotte was anticipating a strong free agent market for Jalen this offseason and was concerned about being outbid for the 25-year-old, who will be an unrestricted free agent.

After trading for him at the deadline, the Sixers are hoping to use their Bird rights on the older McDaniels brother to retain him, but they’ll face competition. League sources tell HoopsHype that the Jazz, Pacers, and Spurs are among the clubs expected to show interest in McDaniels in the summer.

Here’s more from Scotto:

With McDaniels no longer on the roster, the Hornets are prioritizing re-signing P.J. Washington this summer, as well as potentially negotiating a new deal with Miles Bridges, says Scotto.
The Celtics turned away multiple teams who expressed interest in trading for forward Grant Williams, Scotto reports. Clubs were interested in acquiring Williams ahead of his restricted free agency to secure his Bird rights, Scotto writes, adding that some executives around the NBA believe Boston will be hesitant to match an offer sheet exceeding $15MM+ per year for the forward this summer. The C’s never offered more than $50MM in guaranteed money over four years last fall when the two sides discussed an extension, Scotto notes.
Before sending him to the Clippers, the Nuggets discussed possible deals involving Bones Hyland with the Hornets (Jalen McDaniels), Timberwolves (Taurean Prince), and Knicks (Cam Reddish), according to Scotto.
In case you missed it, Scotto’s latest story for HoopsHype also included an interesting item on the Grizzlies’ offer for Mikal Bridges and some info on potential suitors for veteran wing Terrence Ross.

Eastern Notes: Korkmaz, McDaniels, Johnson, LeVert, Reddish, Celtics

February 10th, 2023 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey confirmed that Furkan Korkmaz requested a trade and said he tried find a new home for the sixth-year wing, Derek Bodner of The Daily Six tweets.

“Look, he’s a very good player,” the Sixers’ top exec said. “I think he would be in the rotation of many teams in the league, so we were hoping to help him out. He’s been a great partner with the organization.”

Morey added that Korkmaz has a “great attitude.” The Sixers did swing a deal for the Hornets’ Jalen McDaniels, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. Philadelphia would like to retain him, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice relays. “I think he’s got starter potential. We’d like to obviously have him have a great run, help us win a championship this year, and then re-sign him,” Morey said Friday.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

James Johnson was waived by the Pacers due to a roster crunch in the aftermath of the Kevin Durant multi-team blockbuster. However, Indiana plans to bring back the forward if he clears waivers, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Johnson, who appeared in 12 games this season, attended the Pacers’ game on Friday.
Caris LeVert was relieved he wasn’t dealt by the Cavaliers, he told Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “Just a feeling of relief,” he said. “Relief that nothing happened and I’m going to be here, having an opportunity to finish out the season and finish it out with this group. We have been playing great basketball. I think we’re all glad that the group stayed together and we’re excited to make this final push. Can’t wait to see how far we can go.” LeVert is headed to free agency after the season.
Cam Reddish fell out of the Knicks’ rotation well before he was dealt to the Trail Blazers this week. New York coach Tom Thibodeau said the “change” may be good for the young forward’s career, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. “I don’t know if it didn’t work,” he said. “I just think there were some good moments, some moments that probably could’ve been better and that’s part of the league. Sometimes you need a change.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he wasn’t close to making another deal after acquiring Mike Muscala from the Thunder, implying that they weren’t really interested in making another move, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.

Knicks, Blazers, Sixers, Hornets Officially Complete Four-Team Trade

February 9th, 2023 at 10:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Knicks, Trail Blazers, Sixers, and Hornets have folded two separate trade agreements into a single four-team trade, with press releases from New York and Portland confirming that the deal is official.

The trade combines the Knicks’ acquisition of Josh Hart from Portland with the three-team trade agreement that sends Matisse Thybulle to the Blazers and Jalen McDaniels to the 76ers. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice first reported (via Twitter) that the two deals would be combined into one.

Here are the full terms of the trade:

Knicks acquire Josh Hart, the draft rights to Bojan Dubljevic (from Trail Blazers), and the draft rights to Daniel Diez (from Trail Blazers).
Trail Blazers acquire Matisse Thybulle, Cam Reddish, Ryan Arcidiacono, the Knicks’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), and the draft rights to Ante Tomic (from Knicks).
Sixers acquire Jalen McDaniels, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (from Hornets), and the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick.
Hornets acquire Svi Mykhailiuk, either the Hornets’, Hawks’, or Nets’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Sixers), and either the Pelicans’ or Trail Blazers’ 2027 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Trail Blazers).

The deal expanded slightly to include the draft rights of three draft-and-stash players, but otherwise looks the same as what was previously reported.

As expected, Portland waived Greg Brown to help open up the necessary roster spots for their incoming players.

For more details on the deal, check out our full stories on the Knicks/Blazers half of the trade, as well as the Blazers/Sixers/Hornets portion.

Matisse Thybulle To Blazers, Jalen McDaniels To Sixers In Three-Team Trade

February 9th, 2023 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers are in the process of finalizing a trade for Sixers defensive ace Matisse Thybulle, reports Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links), it’ll be a three-team deal that also includes the Hornets, with forward Jalen McDaniels headed to Philadelphia and Charlotte acquiring multiple second-round picks. Veteran wing Svi Mykhailiuk, whom the Blazers agreed to acquire in the Josh Hart trade with New York, will be flipped to the Hornets in this deal, Woj adds (Twitter links).

Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter links) provides the full breakdown of the agreement:

Sixers to acquire McDaniels, the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (from Charlotte), and the Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick.
Blazers to acquire Thybulle.
Hornets to acquire the most favorable of the Hornets’, Hawks’, and Nets’ 2023 second-round picks (from Philadelphia), the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Blazers’ 2027 second-round picks (from Portland), and Mykhailiuk (from Portland).

In addition to adding a couple of second-round picks and a versatile forward in McDaniels, the Sixers will also dip under the luxury tax line with this move — they were previously $1.1MM over, but by swapping Thybulle ($4.38MM) for McDaniels ($1.93MM), they’ll now be about $1.35MM under.

McDaniels, 25, is having the most productive season of his four-year career. Through 56 games with Charlotte (21 starts, 26.7 MPG), he held averages of 10.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.2 SPG on .447/.332/.846 shooting. The former 52nd overall pick will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, but the Sixers will hold his Bird rights if they want to re-sign him.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported last month that the Blazers were targeting players athletic players with size and 3-and-D wings. While Thybulle isn’t a great shooter, he is a terrific athlete and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team in two of his first three seasons, so he fulfills some of what they were looking for.

Like Cam Reddish, whom the Blazers acquired in the Josh Hart deal, Thybulle will be a restricted free agent in the summer if Portland extends him a qualifying offer. The defensive stalwart was the 20th overall pick back in 2019.

Evidently the Hornets decided they didn’t want to pay McDaniels in the offseason and instead chose to add a couple of second-round picks. While they did give up one (New York’s 2024 pick), they also received two in return, with their own pick almost certain to come back to them (the Sixers controlled it from a previous trade). That pick will land in the early 30s, so it has solid value.

Mykhaliuk was also sent to Portland in the Hart deal and will now be rerouted to Charlotte. He has hardly played this season, but the Hornets will get a cheap flyer on him if they want to keep him around — he was drafted by GM Mitch Kupchak back in 2016 when the two were with the Lakers.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.

Trade Rumors: Beasley, Vanderbilt, Pelicans, Hyland, Pacers

January 30th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz have been involved in trade talks regarding Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt and are seeking a first-round pick in return for each player, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Scotto notes that both players were part of trade discussions earlier this season involving the Hawks‘ John Collins, and he says the Suns are also interested in dealing for them.

Beasley and Vanderbilt have been important contributors since Utah acquired them from Minnesota last summer in the Rudy Gobert trade. Beasley has bolstered the Jazz bench and is averaging 13.6 PPG, while Vanderbilt moved into the starting lineup and is posting 8.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per night.

Utah has interest in acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith from the Mavericks or Jalen McDaniels from the Hornets, sources tell Scotto. He suggests that Beasley and Vanderbilt could be combined in an offer for Finney-Smith, but the Jazz may wait until the offseason to try to sign McDaniels in free agency. Scotto adds that the Suns and Raptors are also watching McDaniels and may attempt to trade for him now to acquire his Bird rights.

Scotto cites the Hawks, Cavaliers and Pelicans as teams that have reached out to Utah about Beasley. He mentions the Knicks as another potential landing spot, as New York had interest in Beasley before he signed his last contract with the Wolves. Knicks executive Gersson Rosas traded for Beasley and Vanderbilt when he ran Minnesota’s front office, and Scotto hears that he has been monitoring Beasley’s availability.

There are more trade rumors to pass along:

League executives tell Scotto that Pelicans reserves Devonte’ Graham and Jaxson Hayes are considered to be available. Graham is under contract for $12.1MM for next season and has a $2.85MM guarantee on his $12.65MM salary for 2024/25. Hayes is headed for restricted free agency this offseason.
It may seem surprising that the Nuggets are gauging the value of second-year guard Bones Hyland, but trading him is the team’s best chance to improve before the deadline, Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype states in the same story. Denver would like to add a defensive forward, but apart from its rotation the team doesn’t have many players who would be useful in salary matching. Sources tell Scotto the Nuggets are reluctant to part with any draft assets in a deal involving Hyland. Gozlan also points out that getting another wing player now would provide insurance in case Bruce Brown decides to turn down his $6.8MM player option for next season.
After reaching an extension agreement with Myles Turner, the Pacers have $10.7MM in cap space to work with on the trade market, Gozlan adds. Indiana and San Antonio are the only teams that still have cap room available for the current season.

Charania’s Latest: Anunoby, Collins, Poeltl, Hyland, More

January 30th, 2023 at 9:42am CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks and Suns are among the teams interested in acquiring OG Anunoby, but it may be a few more days before the Raptors decide whether to make him available, writes Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charania that Toronto won’t decide whether to be a buyer or seller until close to the February 9 trade deadline. That decision will affect the availability of Anunoby, along with Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr. and possibly others.

The Raptors were counting on another strong season after finishing fifth in the East last year, but they’re just 23-28 so far and stuck in 12th place. However, Toronto has won two of the first three games on its current road trip and still has a realistic shot to reach the play-in tournament.

President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and general manager Bobby Webster want to take as much time as they can to evaluate the current roster before deciding whether to keep the core together or try to rebuild around Scottie Barnes. The Raptors are expected to seek a premium price if they do make their top players available, and Charania hears that the Knicks are willing to part with multiple first-round picks to land Anunoby.

The organization will also make a decision this summer on the future of head coach Nick Nurse, Charania adds. Toronto hasn’t released the details of Nurse’s most recent contract extension, but sources tell Charania it will expire after the 2023/24 season. He also hears from sources that Nurse has been the target of some of the frustrations this season, and the front office will consider whether a coaching change is in the team’s best interest.

Charania offers more inside information heading into the trade deadline:

The Hawks are still listening to offers for John Collins, but new head of basketball operations Landry Fields is telling teams that Collins is considered an important asset rather than a salary to dump. The Jazz remain interested in Collins, sources tell Charania, and when the teams discussed a deal early this season, Atlanta sought Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt in return. Utah reportedly asked for a first-round pick as well, which caused negotiations to stall.
Spurs center Jakob Poeltl is getting increased interest on the trade market, and Charania believes he could be headed to an Eastern Conference team such as the Celtics or Raptors.
The Nuggets are holding active trade conversations regarding Bones Hyland, and sources tell Charania that the Timberwolves are among the interested teams.
The Hornets are engaged in trade talks regarding Mason Plumlee and Kelly Oubre, according to Charania, and the Suns, Raptors, Jazz, Pacers and Spurs are among the teams monitoring Jalen McDaniels. Charlotte may value McDaniels too highly to consider a trade, but teams with cap space are expected to target him when he becomes a free agent this summer.
The Jazz are also interested in Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith, and Charania reports that rival teams believe he would be available in a deal involving a star player. Executives tell Charania that Dallas has put a high price on Finney-Smith, who signed a four-year, $55MM extension last year.
Jaylen Nowell is strongly considering leaving the Timberwolves this summer in free agency if he doesn’t get an extension in Minnesota, according to Charania’s sources.

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