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Free Agent Stock Watch: Central Division

March 1st, 2023 at 3:53pm CST by Rory Maher

For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents or could become free agents during the 2023 offseason. We consider whether their stock is rising or falling due to their performance and other factors. Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Central players.

Brook Lopez, C, Bucks

2022/23: $13,906,976
2023/24: UFA
Stock: Up

Lopez has been one of the NBA’s best stories this season, rebounding from a mostly lost season in 2021/22 after undergoing back surgery (he played just 13 regular season games and 12 playoff games). He’s having an outstanding year and has been a major factor in Milwaukee’s league-leading 44-17 record, averaging 14.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG and 2.4 BPG on .508/.370/.766 shooting through 60 games (30.3 MPG).

The veteran center, who is one of the leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year, has said he hopes to remain with the Bucks, and the interest is reportedly mutual. Lopez has definitely earned a raise, but given his age (he turns 35 next month), I’d be a little surprised if he gets more than a two-year deal.

Khris Middleton, F, Bucks

2022/23: $37,948,276
2023/24: $40,396,552 (player option)
Stock: Down

Middleton’s stock is down primarily due to injuries, which have limited him to 20 games to this point. The Bucks have been very cautious with the three-time All-Star, as he’s been coming off the bench lately and averaging his fewest minutes per game (21.5) since he was a rookie. However, despite the small sample size, it’s worth noting that the Bucks have been terrific with Middleton on the court – he has a plus-9.7 net rating, per NBA.com.

A career 38.9% three-point shooter, Middleton is making just 29.9% from deep this season, which has hurt his offensive efficiency (the rest of his shooting numbers are very close to career norms). That seems more like an aberration than a long-term concern.

The remaining 21 regular season games and how he fares in the postseason will likely determine whether or not the 31-year-old decides to pick up his player option for ’23/24. Let’s not forget that Middleton averaged 23.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 5.1 APG and 1.5 SPG during Milwaukee’s championship run a couple years ago — I would not be surprised at all if he bounces back from a disappointing season over the next few months.

Ayo Dosunmu, G, Bulls

2022/23: $1,563,518
2023/24: RFA
Stock: Neutral

The 38^th pick of the 2021 draft, Dosunmu had a strong rookie campaign, earning a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team after averaging 8.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 3.3 APG on .520/.376/.679 shooting in 77 games (40 starts, 27.4 MPG).

His numbers have been quite similar in year two, with the 23-year-old averaging 9.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.8 APG on .498/.316/.806 shooting in 60 games (49 starts, 28.1 MPG). Obviously the three-point percentage is down, which is unfortunate, and he hasn’t necessarily progressed from a statistical standpoint like some second-year players do.

Advanced stats aren’t very high on Dosunmu, and the Bulls have been better by a pretty significant margin when he’s not on the court. While Dosunmu may not have made a second-year leap, I still like his defensive potential and he reportedly has a strong work ethic and team-first attitude.

Dosunmu met the starter criteria, so the value of his qualifying offer increased to $5,216,324. It will be interesting to see how his restricted free agency plays out.

Hamidou Diallo, G/F, Pistons

2022/23: $5,200,000
2023/24: UFA
Stock: Up

Diallo is challenging to evaluate because his strengths and weakness are more pronounced than most players. He is a non-shooting wing with pretty bad tunnel vision, which you would expect would make him ineffective in a league constantly looking for floor-spacers.

That isn’t the case. The 24-year-old is one of the most athletic players in the NBA and he plays with a tremendous amount of energy. He utilizes those strengths to play strong defense, crash the boards, drive, and catch lobs, and he’s been very effective at all of those things in ‘22/23.

The Pistons have an overall defensive rating of 117.6, which ranks 28^th in the league. When Diallo is on the court, Detroit has the equivalent of the league’s fourth-best defense. He is shooting a career-high 58.1% from the field in large part because he is converting 71.8% of his attempts at the rim, per DunksAndThrees.com – a better mark than many centers.

Sometimes Diallo’s energy carries over into recklessness. He fouls too much and can be turnover-prone. Even if his game is polarizing, I think he deserves a raise, perhaps a deal in the range of $6-10MM per year.

Oshae Brissett, F, Pacers

2022/23: $1,846,738
2023/24: UFA
Stock: Down

After averaging 9.6 PPG and 5.4 RPG on .428/.368/.716 shooting in 88 games (41 starts, 23.7 MPG) with Indiana from 2020-22, Brissett had an opportunity to establish himself as a reliable rotation player in a contract year. Unfortunately, that has not come to fruition.

The Pacers have been relatively weak at power forward all season. Brissett hasn’t helped much. He’s averaging 5.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG on .388/.333/.693 shooting in 49 games in ‘22/23, with his playing time cut back to 16.0 MPG. He has been a healthy scratch in seven of the last eight games.

Still just 24 years old, Brissett should land another (relatively small) deal in free agency — he’s a solid rebounder and defender. But those shooting numbers are a problem, and his stock is definitely down compared to the past couple seasons.

Injury Updates: Raptors, Bucks, Blazers, Nuggets

February 23rd, 2023 at 6:54pm CST by Rory Maher

OG Anunoby, Gary Trent Jr. and Thaddeus Young were all full practice participants on Tuesday evening and head coach Nick Nurse said they looked “good, healthy and ready to go,” on Thursday against New Orleans, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. All three players will indeed play tonight, Lewenberg confirmed on Thursday (via Twitter).

Barring Otto Porter, who is out for the season after foot surgery, the rest of Toronto’s injury report was clean until Fred VanVleet was downgraded to out shortly before tip-off due to personal reasons, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

Of the group who are set to return, Anunoby had missed the most time — he’s been out the past nine games with a wrist injury he suffered nearly a month ago.

Here are more injury updates from around the NBA:

Jae Crowder is set to make his season debut for the Bucks on Friday against Miami, writes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Crowder, who sat out the entire ’22/23 season while awaiting a trade from Phoenix, was working out with Bobby Portis and Joe Ingles in Miami during the All-Star break, per Nehm. Portis has been out for a month with a sprained knee, but he was able to practice before the break and will return to action on Friday. According to Nehm, head coach Mike Budenholzer was optimistic about Khris Middleton returning Friday as well. The three-time All-Star has been dealing with right knee soreness lately, missing the final game before the break. All three players are list as available on the latest injury report, Nehm tweets.
However, things aren’t so positive for Giannis Antetokounmpo (wrist sprain) and Pat Connaughton (left calf soreness), who are both doubtful for Friday’s game, Nehm adds. Giannis is day-to-day, while Connaughton was only a partial practice participant Thursday for the Bucks.
Damian Lillard and Jerami Grant are both out for Thursday’s matchup in Sacramento due to rest, the Trail Blazers announced (via Twitter). As Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report explains (via Twitter), the Blazers’ flight out of Portland was delayed for several hours on Wednesday due to a snow storm and finally departed late Thursday afternoon.
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray returned to action on Thursday in Cleveland after dealing with knee soreness leading into the break, tweets Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports Radio. Murray had missed the previous six games. Unfortunately, Aaron Gordon remains sidelined with a rib injury, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Head coach Michael Malone said Gordon’s rib issue is “not where I would wish it would be,” according to Singer, who hears from a source (via Twitter) that the rib isn’t fractured, but it’s still limiting Gordon’s effectiveness.

Bucks Notes: Antetokounmpo, Holiday, Middleton

February 18th, 2023 at 5:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t participate in Saturday night’s skills challenge, but he doesn’t seem overly concerned about the right wrist sprain he suffered Thursday, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The Bucks star brushed aside questions about his wrist Friday as he prepared for his role as a coach in the celebrity contest. It still hasn’t been determined if Antetokounmpo will try to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game, in which he will serve as captain for one of the teams.

Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer expressed optimism about Antetokounmpo’s condition following Thursday’s game, saying X-rays didn’t show any damage beyond the sprain. ESPN reported that he will continue to be re-evaluated while participating in All-Star Weekend.

“What fall?” Antetokounmpo responded when reporters asked about the play that led to the sprain. “That was yesterday, man. That’s old news. It’s a brand new day, man. A good day to be alive.”

There’s more on the Bucks:

The celebrity coaching experience may eventually lead to a new career for the two-time MVP. Antetokounmpo tells Jim Owczarski of The Journal-Sentinel that he’s considering coaching in the NBA once his playing days are over. “Afterward, when I retire, I want to be a head coach,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know that about me, but I want to be a head coach. I really want to be. It’s kind of hard, because you have no control. And, I know the game of basketball, I know how to play the game of basketball, so it’s hard.”
Jrue Holiday has agreed to take Antetokounmpo’s place in the skills challenge, Owczarski adds in a separate story. Holiday, who was also part of the skills competition during his last All-Star appearance in 2012/13, is enjoying the chance to return to the game after such a long absence. “I think just it being 10 years later,” he said, “me being able to just get a chance to perform at the highest level and on a really good team and just showcase my talent, just really being able to be the best that I can, it’s awesome to be recognized for it.”
In an interview with Mark Medina of NBA.com, Holiday says he originally wasn’t planning to watch the announcement of the All-Star reserves because he didn’t expect to be selected.
Khris Middleton was held out of the Bucks’ final game before the break because of soreness in his right knee, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. Middleton recently returned from a knee injury, but Budenholzer indicated that his status on Thursday shouldn’t be considered a sign of trouble. “We just have to take it day by day, and in some ways, that’s how all the guys are,” Budenholzer said.

Bucks’ Antetokounmpo, Middleton Set To Return To Action

January 22nd, 2023 at 3:50pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bucks All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and star swingman Khris Middleton are expected to be available for Milwaukee on Monday against the Pistons, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Antetokounmpo has been sidelined since January 11 due to an ongoing knee issue. When healthy, he’s played like an MVP again for the 29-17 Bucks. The two-time MVP – also a former Defensive Player of the Year and six-time All-Star – has been averaging a career-high 31.0 PPG on .524/.245/.653 shooting splits, 11.9 RPG, 5.3 APG, 0.9 BPG and 0.8 SPG through his 35 healthy games.

Middleton, a three-time All-Star himself, has missed all but seven games this season. The 6’7″ wing out of Texas A&M has most recently been shelved since December 15 with a knee injury of his own. In his seven healthy games, he has averaged 11.1 PPG on .325/.268/.895 shooting splits, plus 4.4 APG and 2.6 RPG, far cries from his 2021/22 season averages of 20.1 PPG, 5.4 APG and 5.4 RPG.

Antetokounmpo and Middleton are both listed as probable to return vs. Detroit.

Bucks Notes: Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Lasry

January 17th, 2023 at 6:07pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Giannis Antetokounmpo will sit out for the fourth consecutive game due to left knee soreness when the Bucks play Toronto on Tuesday, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets.

However, it appears Antetokounmpo has a good chance to be back in action for the Bucks’ next game. Milwaukee doesn’t play again until Saturday, when it visits the Cavaliers. The team has gone 1-2 with Antetokounmpo resting his knee.

We have more on the Bucks:

Khris Middleton came back from wrist surgery, then dealt with a right knee injury. He admits it’s been a rough stretch for him physically, Nehm writes. “Rehab is tougher than actually playing games,” Middleton said. “More hours in the gym, harder stuff. Games are fun. You’re in and out. I won’t say easier, but games are supposed to be easier than practices and stuff like that, so I’m ready to put this (stuff) behind me and move on to the fun stuff.” Middleton has only appeared in seven games this season, with his most recent outing on Dec. 15.
A previous report revealed that team governor and co-owner Marc Lasry was looking to sell his stake in the franchise. Now, Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that while he’s in no rush to sell off his portion of ownership, Lasry likely remains willing to sell at a high valuation. The Bucks have been valued by Forbes at $2.3 billion.
In case you missed it, the Bucks are among several teams interested in the Pistons’ leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic. Get the details here.

Central Notes: Green, Terry, Middleton, Haliburton

January 12th, 2023 at 8:52pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Bulls forward Javonte Green underwent a right knee scope on Wednesday, and Chicago reportedly expects him to return in around a month. After that news broke, head coach Billy Donovan explained why the team and Green opted for surgery, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

“He obviously had that bone bruise, which was causing him some problems,’’ Donovan said. “He did swell from it. Medical guys thought that this was something that could be managed if we backed off of him. They had a bunch of different therapies that they could try to do. They did that, and there really wasn’t much progress after a week.

“Given Javonte’s options with where we’re at in the season … obviously it was Javonte’s decision to do it, but I didn’t think from what I got from medical, and even what I got from Javonte, that there was a lot of progress with the interaction of just resting him,” Donovan continued.

Green is on the second year of a two-season, $3.5MM contract he signed with the Bulls, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The 6’5″ vet has emerged as a tenacious, if undersized, defender, mostly playing small forward and power forward.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Rookie Bulls wing Dalen Terry is not currently in the rotation, even with the team missing key swingmen like DeMar DeRozan and Green. He is hoping to carve out rotation minutes at some point this season, Cowley writes in a separate piece. “I’m definitely anxious to get playing time,’’ Terry said. “With the position I’m in right now, it’s just like you’ve gotta embrace it, but you can’t ever get comfortable. I can’t get comfortable with learning every day and not playing. I just have to find that balance.’’
Bucks All-Star small forward Khris Middleton practiced with Milwaukee on Tuesday and was involved in the club’s subsequent shootaround Wednesday, but will require more practice reps before he can make his return to the floor, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He continues to try to progress from the knee soreness that has kept him shelved since December 15. “It’s the next ramp-up step in returning to playing,” Middleton said. “It went well. Really, no swelling that came back yesterday, feel pretty good today. I know people get frustrated, but it’s like a day-by-day thing where I have to put myself through these various steps and have to sustain it for a lot of time in order to be back playing without pain or swelling.”
Pacers star point guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a left elbow sprain and left knee bone contusion, and is set to miss at least the next two weeks before he is reassessed. Bob Kravitz of The Athletic writes that the team seems to have found a long-term keeper in Haliburton, a player who might actually love Indiana back for once, much like Hall of Fame shooting guard Reggie Miller, who spent all of his 18 NBA seasons trying to bring a title to the Pacers.

Eastern Notes: Hornets, Magic, Middleton, Fields, Raptors

January 7th, 2023 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets and Magic are among the seemingly lottery-bound teams who have yet to show much aggressiveness in trade discussions involving veterans, multiple sources tell Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

“One of the unintended consequences of the play-in tournament is a chilling of the trade market,” one Eastern Conference executive told Pincus. “When almost the whole league can make the (play-in), you just don’t have as many sellers in December or January. End of the month, we’ll see more action leading into February.”

According to Pincus, the fact that virtually no teams are attempting to create cap room for the summer of 2023 could also be a factor in slowing down the in-season trade market.

“Nobody wants cap space this summer,” a Western Conference executive said. “The really bad teams are so bad, they can keep their (quality veterans) too. There aren’t any fire sales like we saw last year with Portland, but (even) that was for the purpose of retooling.”

While it’s true that we haven’t seen much action yet, we still have more than a month until the February 9 trade deadline arrives, so it’s too early to draw too many conclusions about this season’s market — I expect more sellers to emerge in the coming weeks and plenty of trades to be made as the deadline gets closer.

Here’s more from around the East:

Khris Middleton will accompany the Bucks on their four-game road trip that begins on Monday in New York, but head coach Mike Budenholzer was noncommittal when asked if the star forward would play at all during the trip, which runs through next Saturday. Asked if there was any concern that Middleton’s right knee soreness might be an issue that requires surgery, Budenholzer simply replied, “No” (Twitter links via Eric Nehm of The Athletic).
At age 34, Hawks general manager Landry Fields is one of the youngest heads of basketball operations in the NBA, but his rise through the front office ranks at such a young age became possible only because his playing career ended prematurely, as Howie Kussoy of The New York Post (subscription required) writes in a feature on the former Knicks wing. “I look back and I’m super proud of the fact that I was able to get to the NBA and experience some of that NBA success, Fields said. “… But there’s also this sadness to it. I was really thinking there’d be so much more. I thought there’d be 10-plus years in the NBA.”
The player development magic that has helped make the Raptors successful in the past has vanished this season, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. The team doesn’t have enough reliable rotation players to complement its top guys and has had to rely too heavily on its starters, as Koreen and Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca observe.
While some of those top Raptors players, such as Fred VanVleet, are seemingly having down years, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca argues that the Raptors have failed VanVleet more than he has failed the team — the former All-Star point guard has had to carry too substantial a workload due to Toronto’s lack of solid backcourt depth.

Health Updates: LeBron, Walker, Prince, Bucks, SGA

January 4th, 2023 at 4:04pm CST by Luke Adams

LeBron James has been helping to keep the Lakers in the play-in race, averaging 36.6 points per game on 58.5% shooting during the club’s 3-2 road trip that wrapped up on Monday.

However, James won’t be available when the Lakers return home and host the Heat on Wednesday. He has been ruled out for the game due to a non-COVID illness, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Lakers guard Lonnie Walker will also miss his third consecutive contest, McMenamin adds. Previously listed as out due to a tailbone contusion, Walker is now on the injury report with left knee soreness.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince intends to make his return to action on Wednesday night vs. Portland, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Prince, who was dealing with a right shoulder subluxation, last played on November 23 — he has missed Minnesota’s last 20 games.
After playing on Tuesday night vs. Washington, Jrue Holiday (non-COVID illness) and Joe Ingles (left knee injury management) have been ruled out for the second half of the Bucks‘ back-to-back set on Wednesday in Toronto, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Khris Middleton (right knee soreness) and George Hill (non-COVID illness) will also remain sidelined.
Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed Tuesday’s game due to a non-COVID illness, but he’s not on Wednesday’s injury report, so it appears he’ll be available tonight in Orlando, tweets Rylan Stiles of Locked on Thunder.

Central Notes: Antetokounmpo, Holiday, LaVine, Drummond, Mitchell

January 3rd, 2023 at 5:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday are both available to play for the Bucks tonight against Washington, Eric Nehm of The Athletic tweets. Antetokounmpo sat out Sunday’s loss to Washington due to left knee soreness. Holiday has not played since Christmas Day due to a non-COVID illness.

The Bucks have listed Khris Middleton (right knee soreness) and George Hill (non-COVID illness) as out.

We have more from the Central Division:

Zach LaVine, in the first season of a five-year max contract, admits he needs to do a better job giving consistent effort on the defensive end, he told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “That might just be finishing plays as well as the possession goes on,’’ the Bulls’ wing said. “Getting a rebound, one more contest, one more rotation, one more effort … and you know, you can take that on the chin and say, ‘Yeah, there’s been possessions where if I have to make that last rotation, I have to give a better effort toward that.’ That’s something I do have to be better at.’’
Bulls center Andre Drummond thought he’d spend his entire career with the team that drafted him, the Pistons, he told Mike Curtis of the Detroit News (subscription required). “For me, (Detroit) was always a place that I thought I was going to be for my entire career. But, it didn’t go that way,” he said. “They had other plans; I think they wanted to restart their team again and it’s never any hard feelings. I know the way of the business. It’s always love. I love (Pistons owner) Tom Gores. I love his family. I love the city of Detroit and I love the staff there.” Drummond played seven-and-a-half seasons with Detroit before he was traded to Cleveland.
Donovan Mitchell‘s 71-point eruption on Monday has washed away his disappointing postseason performances with Utah last season, Michael Pina of The Ringer writes. The 25-year-old Mitchell has been as efficient offensively as he’s ever been during his career. If he can sustain that, the Cavaliers got a special talent that rarely gets traded, particularly before the player reaches age 30.

Injury Updates: Payne, Shamet, Jovic, Green, Antetokounmpo, Holiday, Middleton, Hill

January 1st, 2023 at 3:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns reserve guards Cameron Payne (right foot strain) and Landry Shamet (sore right Achilles) have seen their statuses updated to probable for Monday’s game against the Knicks, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link). Payne has been unavailable since December 13, while Shamet has been sidelined since Christmas Day.

Long-term, Phoenix is still without All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker (groin strain) and power forwards Cameron Johnson (right meniscus surgery) and Jae Crowder. Crowder has been away from the Suns all season while hoping for a trade.

We have more injury-related news:

While getting some run with the Heat‘s G League team, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, rookie Miami power forward Nikola Jovic has been sidelined with back spasms, reports Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (via Twitter).
Mavericks shooting guard Josh Green (sprained right elbow) remains shelved for a Monday matchup against the Rockets, the team announced (Twitter link). The elbow was reportedly reassessed on Friday. Dallas also confirmed that Dorian Finney-Smith (right adductor strain), expected to miss at least another week, and Maxi Kleber (right hamstring surgery), out indefinitely, remain unavailable.
The Bucks could be missing their three best players on Sunday night as they square off against the Wizards, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic (via Twitter). Khris Middleton (sore right knee) and Jrue Holiday (non-coronavirus illness) will miss the contest against Washington, while All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore left knee) and reserve point guard George Hill (non-coronavirus illness) are both questionable to play.