Pacers Notes: Carlisle, Mathurin, I. Jackson, Brown, Defense
Head coach Rick Carlisle made it clear on February 24 that he didn’t think the Pacers deserved to be fined $100K by the NBA last month for the way they managed their players. Commissioner Adam Silver‘s statement at the time suggested the league thought Indiana (and Utah, which was docked $500K) was prioritizing “draft position over winning.”
Speaking to the media prior to Friday’s game in Los Angeles, Carlisle changed his tune, saying he was confident in the league’s ability to address tanking, according to Sportsnaut contributor Mark Medina.
“I place every bit of trust I have in Adam Silver,” Carlisle said. “This man is privy to be the ultimate leader. He really has. He really has smart people around him. They very carefully consider everything. They never react. They always think through things.”
While Carlisle’s remarks about the league were more generous than the ones he made a couple weeks ago, he strongly pushed back on the notion that coaches of tanking teams are negatively impacted by the practice, Medina writes. Carlisle specifically pointed to Mark Daigneault of the Thunder as someone who has benefited from the current system.
“You have the two best teams in the league — one in the East (Detroit) and one in the West (Oklahoma City) — that have built their teams much the same way,” Carlisle said. “I think Daigneault is a great example. He was a G League coach. But he built a relationship in that organization and a partnership. If he built those relationships and you become a real partner, the wins and losses, this is just my opinion, the wins and losses element of it, isn’t going to be that kind of a factor.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Wednesday’s game in L.A. marked the first time Pacers first-round picks Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson faced their former team since they were traded to the Clippers ahead of last month’s deadline. As Tony East of Circle City Spin writes, Jackson said he was caught off guard by the trade, adding that it was “surreal” and “bittersweet” to face the Pacers after spending spending five-and-a-half years with Indiana. Mathurin expressed a similar sentiment. “It was tough. It was tough for sure. … Everything I know is kind of based off of Indy, whether it’s just the lifestyle, on the court, off the court,” Mathurin said. “But I mean, it was good. It was definitely worth it – the change of scenery and also the change of organization. I said earlier that I was super grateful to be part of both, two great parties. It’s been fun, man. It’s been fun out here so far. My teammates have embraced me a lot, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.“
- Kobe Brown was something of an afterthought in the aforementioned deal that saw Ivica Zubac land with Indiana, but the third-year forward has played pretty well as a Pacer, averaging 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds on .471/.423/.786 shooting in 10 games (24.8 minutes per contest). While Brown is unlikely to be a priority for the Pacers in free agency this summer, they will be limited in what they can offer him after the Clippers declined his fourth-year option in the fall, East notes for Forbes. It probably won’t have a material impact on contract negotiations, East acknowledges, since Brown seems unlikely to command a deal in this range, but Indiana can’t offer him a starting salary exceeding $4.8MM in 2026/27, whereas other teams won’t face that same restriction.
- Defense remains a major issue for the Pacers, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscriber link). They’re at the bottom of several defensive stats — including defensive rating — since the All-Star break, a trend that continued in Friday’s loss to the Lakers, which was far more lopsided than the final score (128-117) suggests. “In the first half, we had three or four times where we went for shot fakes and gave up and-ones or free throws,” Carlisle said. “That’s game-plan discipline. We can do better there. That’s controllable. It takes not talent. It just takes recognition and attention to detail and focus.”
Pacers Notes: Brown, Siakam, Haliburton, Carr, Zubac
Along with acquiring Ivica Zubac from the Clippers earlier this month, the Pacers added guard Kobe Brown in the deal. Brown was only averaging 8.7 minutes per game in L.A. but his playing time has skyrocketed with his new team.
Brown has appeared in five games, including one start, and is averaging 10.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old had a season-high 15 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes against Dallas on Sunday.
“This is a great chance for us to figure out as much as we can about him,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I like the things he’s doing. … When you get an opportunity like this, this is where you can really show what you can do.”
It’s a de facto audition for Brown, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Clippers declined their option on his 2026/27 contract prior to this season.
“For him he’s got to understand what we want him to do and where we need him to be,” forward Pascal Siakam said. “But I think he’s doing a great job of playing within whatever’s happening and not thinking about it. When you’re open, shoot it. Other than that, just play as hard as you can.”
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Siakam scored 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, for his 11th 30-plus point performance of the season during the loss to the Mavs. He also notched eight rebounds and three assists and the Pacers were +7 in his 29 minutes, Dopirak notes. Siakam is dealing with a left hamstring issue but doesn’t want to be shut down, despite the team’s record and the franchise’s desire to get the best lottery odds possible. “Anyone that knows me knows that I want to play,” Siakam said. “I don’t want to sit around.”
- As if Tyrese Haliburton didn’t have enough to deal with as he worked his way back from an Achilles tendon tear, the star guard has been diagnosed with shingles, according to an ESPN report. He will be away from the team for a few weeks. “It’s a very painful thing,” Carlisle said. “… He will make a full recovery, but this happened over the last few days. He was meeting us in D.C. and had some odd symptoms, and he came back here. That’s what’s happening with him. We certainly wish him a speedy recovery. It’s a unique case and a unique situation, but I talked to him a few times, and he’s always in a good mood, so he’ll get through it.”
- Senior vice president of player personnel Ryan Carr is joining Darian DeVries‘ staff at Indiana University as executive director of basketball, according to Jeff Rabjohns of 247Sports.com. Carr, who will report directly to DeVries, has been with the Pacers organization for 25 years. He has managed the team’s pre-draft preparation for more than a decade as well as its evaluations of all draft prospects. He’s a former IU manager.
- How will Zubac fit in with the Pacers? In a Forbes article, Tony East takes a closer look at Zubac’s potential impact, including his defensive prowess and willingness to set hard screens. Zubac has yet to make his Pacers debut due to an ankle injury.
Central Notes: Mitchell, Harden, Bickerstaff, Dillingham, Brown
Donovan Mitchell doesn’t have any concerns about how he and James Harden will mesh in the Cavaliers’ new starting backcourt, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
“I’ve never played with a guy like James Harden. I never had a guy like that on my team,” Mitchell said. “And we’re not here to figure out like who’s bigger, better or whatever. How are we going to win? And I think having that relationship helps. But it also speaks to the type of people that he and I are. We’re trying to figure what’s right. For him to go out there and say he’s trying to help me, that’s huge. That’s huge for everything. … Winning is the end-all, right? I’m not worried about how we’ll fit and how we’ll coexist because we have the same goal in mind, and it doesn’t matter how we get there. We just want to get there.”
Mitchell also touched on a number of other topics in a monthly diary, including his feelings on the sad way Chris Paul‘s career ended.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Following J.B. Bickerstaff‘s dismissal as head coach of the Cavaliers after the 2023/24 season, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get another opportunity, he told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “I didn’t think I was going to get a job,” he said. “There weren’t jobs available at that point. So I was just sitting at home and hanging out with my family back in Cleveland trying to figure out what was next.” New Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon soon offered him a head coaching job within the division. He learned from his days in Cleveland how to improve in his next stop. “That month that I had off gave me an opportunity to, like, evaluate myself and think about what I was going to be at the next opportunity and just understanding that the focus should always be on the process and not just focused on the results,” he said. “In my last year in Cleveland, I let that get the best of me, where it was like results, results, results. And we skipped some of the process stuff.”
- Rob Dillingham, a 2024 lottery selection, had trouble cracking the Timberwolves’ rotation and earning sustained minutes. After getting traded to the Bulls, Dillingham is getting a longer look from coach Billy Donovan, though he’ll still likely have to fight for playing time when the team’s backcourt gets healthy, notes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Dillingham has averaged 11.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.3 turnovers in 24.7 minutes per game over three appearances. “His job and responsibility is to generate shots for guys when he gets (inside) and understand the shots where he has angles and can shoot a high percentage on and the shots he can’t,” Donovan said. “It’s not like I’m giving him free rein, we need him downhill, but he also can’t be jumping off two feet, getting caught in the air, trying to shoot over guys, trying to throw passes that aren’t there. He’s got to clean that up and we’ve got to help him do it. What I don’t want him to do is not be aggressive or be afraid to attack. He has to attack. He just has to make better decisions, and I think that will come in time.”
- Along with acquiring Ivica Zubac from the Clippers, the Pacers added guard Kobe Brown in the deal. Brown was only averaging 8.7 minutes in L.A. but could see his minutes jump the remainder of the season with Indiana. “I’m grateful, for sure. Grateful to be in this position,” he told Tony East of CircleCitySpin.com. “I feel like this team is a great team. Obviously, they were just in the Finals last year and were so close to winning it. And for them to want me here is big. So I’m happy and excited to be here and be a part of it.” Brown has played in two games with Indiana thus far, including a start against Brooklyn on Wednesday.
Clippers Trade Ivica Zubac To Pacers
8:26 pm: The deal is official, the Clippers confirmed in a press release.
1:13 pm: The Pacers have their new starting center, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reports (via Twitter) that Indiana has reached an agreement to acquire Ivica Zubac from the Clippers.
The full trade, according to reports from Charania (Twitter links), Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (all Twitter links), and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter links), is as follows:
- Pacers to acquire Zubac and Kobe Brown.
- Clippers to acquire Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected and 10-30 protected), the Pacers’ 2029 first-round pick (unprotected), and the Mavericks’ 2028 second-round pick.
If that 2026 Pacers pick doesn’t land between No. 5 and No. 9, the Clippers will instead get Indiana’s unprotected 2031 first-rounder, according to Fischer.
Ever since losing Myles Turner to the division-rival Bucks in free agency last summer, the Pacers have been in the market for a new starting center, having attempted to temporarily address the position this season with a combination of Jackson, Jay Huff, Micah Potter, Tony Bradley, and James Wiseman.
Indiana was linked to several starting-caliber centers on the trade market, with a focus on players with modest or mid-sized contracts, such as Daniel Gafford, Nic Claxton, Walker Kessler, and Yves Missi. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the Pacers made a recent push to acquire Kessler, offering a package that included two unprotected first-round picks, but were rebuffed by the Jazz.
Zubac was the one name continually being linked to the Pacers for much of the season, but it was unclear if the Clippers intended to entertain offers for him after fighting their way back into the postseason picture with a 16-3 stretch. In the wake of the Clippers’ deal sending James Harden to Cleveland earlier this week, Zubac rumors once again began percolating as it became clearer that the organization had an eye toward its future, and Indiana pivoted its attention to the 28-year-old big man.
Zubac is coming off a career year in which he averaged 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game, finished as the Most Improved Player runner-up, made the All-Defensive second team, and placed sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
While he may not receive the same kind of award consideration this season as a member of sub-.500 teams, Zubac has once again been a valuable anchor at the five, averaging 14.4 PPG and 11.0 RPG on 61.3% shooting through 43 games. He also has a team-friendly contract that includes an $18.1MM salary this season, with guaranteed salaries of $19.6MM and $21MM to follow.
Those cap hits will increase slightly as a result of the 5% trade kicker included in Zubac’s contract, adding nearly $800K per year, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link). Still, his contract should provide strong value to the Pacers over the next two-and-a-half seasons as the team looks to return to contention after a disappointing 2025/26 showing.
Speaking of the Pacers’ ’25/26 performance, they currently have the third-worst record in the NBA at 13-38. They’re narrowly ahead of the Pelicans and Kings in the standings and just one game back of the Nets and Wizards, so their place in the lottery standings could change between now and the end of the season, but right now, there’s a 52.1% chance they’ll land a top-four pick and a 47.9% chance they’ll be between No. 5 and No. 7, per Tankathon.
In other words, the Clippers will have roughly a 50/50 chance – or slightly better, depending where the Pacers finish – of securing a lottery pick in the 5-9 range of what is considered a very strong draft.
That pick could be the crown jewel of the Clippers’ return for Zubac, but even if it ends up in the top four and Indiana keeps it, L.A. will be on track to receive two unprotected Pacers first-rounders down the road and is adding two young players to its roster in Mathurin (23 years old) and Jackson (24 years old).
Mathurin, the sixth overall pick in 2022, has battled thumb and toe issues this season that have limited him to 28 games, but he’s still averaging career highs in points (17.8), rebounds (5.4), and assists (2.3) per contest while shooting 37.2% from beyond the three-point line. The Canadian guard will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
Jackson, meanwhile, has started 14 of his 38 games for the Pacers this season, coming off an Achilles tear that limited him to five outings in 2024/25. He has averaged 6.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 16.8 MPG.
The fifth-year center has a $7MM salary for next season and a $6.4MM salary for ’27/28. There’s some injury protection language in his deal, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), but unless he injures his Achilles again, those salaries will remain guaranteed.
Trade Rumors: Bulls, Dosunmu, Allen, Missi, Rockets, Pelicans, More
There have been some “tangible” discussions this week between the Bulls and Pacers about a possible trade involving Ayo Dosunmu and Bennedict Mathurin, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, after Chicago agreed to trades for guards Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons on Tuesday, it’s unclear whether the team still has interest in Mathurin, who is also on the Pelicans‘ radar.
According to Fischer, the Bulls also explored multiple trade scenarios involving Nikola Vucevic before agreeing to a Simons trade with Boston, including offering Vucevic and a future first-round pick to the Cavaliers for Jarrett Allen. That’s a deal Cleveland wouldn’t have been able to make without ducking the second tax apron, since Vucevic’s $21.5MM cap hit comes in a little above Allen’s $20MM figure.
Whether due to the apron restrictions or simply a lack of interest, Cleveland turned down the offer, per Fischer, who adds that the Pacers are another team that has registered interest in Allen.
While the Bulls may not have a viable path to acquiring Allen, they remain very much in the mix for Pelicans center Yves Missi, reports Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. According to Siegel, New Orleans has continued to seek a first-round pick in exchange for Missi, but no team has been willing to meet that asking price so far.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Speaking of the Bulls, it’s worth keeping an eye on whether they end up flipping Mike Conley in a separate trade after acquiring him from Minnesota on Tuesday, Fischer writes. There have been rumblings that if Conley is traded again and then waived, the Timberwolves would have interest in bringing him back on a minimum-salary deal. That wouldn’t be possible if Chicago waives Conley directly due to NBA rules about a traded player rejoining his previous team.
- The Rockets have been connected to Bulls guard Coby White, among other targets, with forward Dorian Finney-Smith viewed as a possible trade candidate, but Siegel hears that Houston likes its roster and would be content to stand pat at the trade deadline — or to make a smaller move or two involving minimum-salary or near-minimum players. Forward Tari Eason, who will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, has drawn significant interest, but the Rockets aren’t interested in moving him, Siegel adds.
- Sources tell ClutchPoints that the Pelicans have received offers that include multiple first-round picks for both Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones, but they still haven’t seriously entertained the idea of trading either player. It remains very possible that New Orleans maintains its high asking prices for Murphy and Jones and keeps both players through the deadline, despite significant league-wide interest in them, Siegel writes.
- The Clippers continue to seek potential takers for Chris Paul and Kobe Brown, Siegel reports, since moving those players would help create breathing room under the hard cap – and room on the roster – to promote Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders from their two-way deals to standard contracts.
- Recognizing that whether or not he’s traded this week is “something that’s out of my control,” Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. says he’s at peace with whatever happens, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. For what it’s worth though, Lewis writes in a separate subscriber-only story that more and more league sources believe Porter will ultimately end up remaining in Brooklyn through this Thursday’s deadline.
Pacific Notes: LeBron, Sabonis, Suns, Clippers
Lakers star LeBron James was moved to tears watching a tribute video during the first quarter of Wednesday’s blowout loss in Cleveland, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The video showed highlights of James’ performance with the Cavaliers during Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals, when he scored 48 points — including the team’s final 25 — in a double overtime victory.
“I think it just comes from just being present. I was just more present today than I’ve been [in past trips to Cleveland],” James said. “[It] definitely got to me a little bit, for sure.”
After the defeat, James admitted he wasn’t sure whether or not it was final game in Cleveland, McMenamin notes.
“I’m just trying to take everything in, not take the moments for granted,” James said. “Because it could be [my last season]. I obviously haven’t made a decision on the future, but it very well could be.”
We have more from around the Pacific:
- Kings big man Domantas Sabonis knows his name has popped up in trade rumors again this season, but he tells Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee he’s doing his best to tune out the speculation. “There’s nothing you can do,” Sabonis said. “You just try to ignore it. I’m here right now, and we’re just trying to go out there and play as well as we can.” The three-time All-Star conceded the rumors feels “different” now that he’s married with three children and owns a home in the Napa Valley, along with a wine brand. “It’s definitely different this time,” Sabonis said. “I’ve got kids, so you’ve got to think about that, but on the court it’s the same thing. I forget everything once I’m in between those lines and the goal is just to help your team win.”
- The Suns aren’t expected to make major roster changes ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, as they reportedly “love” the chemistry they’ve established this season under first-year head coach Jordan Ott. “We have people in place in leadership to take care of a lot of that stuff,” Ott said earlier this week, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “We know it’s right around the corner, but we love our group. We love our group. We continue to say that. Our group is growing internally. Our big piece we’re going to get back is Jalen Green and that’s what we’re excited about.” Green returned to action on Friday against Cleveland after missing three games due to hamstring tightness.
- Law Murray of The Athletic examines the Clippers‘ deadline approach, writing that L.A. could use a play-making combo guard who can get in the paint, make shots and push the ball in transition while being passable on defense. If the Clippers look for significant roster upgrades rather than just clearing roster spots to promote Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders, Brook Lopez, Derrick Jones Jr., Bogdan Bogdanovic and Cam Christie could be trade candidates, Murray writes.
Clippers Rumors: Sanders, Miller, Paul, Brown, Zubac, Collins, More
One of the Clippers‘ primary goals at the trade deadline will be to create the roster and cap flexibility necessary to promote Kobe Sanders and Jordan Miller from their two-way contracts to the standard roster, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints.
The Clippers are currently operating about $1.15MM below their first-apron hard cap, with 14 players on full-season standard contracts (Patrick Baldwin Jr. is on a 10-day deal). They’ll need to move off of at least one of those 14 players in order to create roster space for both Sanders and Miller, who are nearing their active-game limits.
Point guard Chris Paul and forward Kobe Brown are the top trade candidates to watch, Azarly writes. While waiving either player would open up a roster spot, it would leave that player’s full salary on the Clippers’ books. Moving off of Paul’s or Brown’s contract in a trade would be necessary to create enough breathing room below the hard cap to sign both Sanders and Miller to new deals sooner rather than later.
For what it’s worth, the Clippers have already used their full mid-level exception and don’t have a bi-annual exception this season after using it in 2024/25. That means that if they want to offer Sanders or Miller a salary worth more than the minimum, they would need to use their $2.68MM disabled player exception, which can only be used for a one-year contract. A minimum-salary offer would be capped at two years.
Here’s more on the Clippers:
- Azarly adds the Hornets to the list of teams that have inquired on Ivica Zubac but says the Clippers haven’t shown any real interest in moving their starting center. Sources tell ClutchPoints that one team put an unprotected first-round pick and a pick swap in an offer for Zubac, but didn’t get anywhere in negotiations.
- Although the Clippers had some talks earlier in the season about big man John Collins, they’re less interested in moving him at this point, Azarly writes. Collins has played well during the team’s recent hot streak, averaging 15.6 points in 28.1 minutes per game on .675/.635/.792 shooting in his past 14 outings.
- Azarly says the Clippers aren’t “actively shopping” veteran guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, though I’d be surprised if the team isn’t very much open to the idea of trading him. Bogdanovic has been limited to 16 games and hasn’t played since December 26 due to health issues, and is averaging career lows in several categories, including points per game (8.0) and field goal percentage (37.6%).
- Hornets guard Collin Sexton, Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, and Bulls guard Coby White have each been linked to the Clippers in recent days, per Azarly, who notes that the club could use another ball-handler and play-maker to help out James Harden and Kawhi Leonard on offense.
And-Ones: Caboclo, All-Star Teams, Rising Stars, More
Former NBA forward Bruno Caboclo has signed a rest-of-season contract with Dubai Basketball, the EuroLeague team announced in a press release.
The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo spent seven years in the NBA, last suiting up for Houston in 2020/21. The 30-year-old spent last season in Israel with Hapoel Tel Aviv, won the FIBA AmeriCup tournament with his native Brazil over the summer, and was sidelined to open ’25/26 due to a back injury.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- ESPN’s Tim Bontemps has made his picks for the 2026 All-Star teams, identifying nine locks from the Eastern Conference and 10 locks in the West, with five “bubble” candidates in each conference. Bontemps makes Pacers forward Pascal Siakam his final pick in the East over Desmond Bane and Michael Porter Jr., with Suns guard Devin Booker claiming his last spot in the West over Los Angeles stars Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves.
- Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Austin Rivers have been named honorary head coaches for the NBA’s 2026 Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend, the league announced (Twitter link). NBA rookies and sophomores will comprise three of the teams, with the fourth squad made up of G League standouts.
- Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton of ESPN identify one trade candidate to watch on each NBA roster, ranging from big names like Ja Morant and Domantas Sabonis to under-the-radar trade candidates like Celtics big man Chris Boucher and Clippers forward Kobe Brown.
- In another story for ESPN, Marks takes a look at several of the most valuable traded draft picks for 2026, as well as outlining how certain teams could benefit from various convoluted swaps. Our breakdown of 2026’s traded first-round picks can be found right here.
Rory Maher contributed to this story.
Clippers Declining Kobe Brown’s 2026/27 Option
The Clippers have decided to decline their 2026/27 rookie scale team option on forward Kobe Brown, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The move will make Brown an unrestricted free agent during the 2026 offseason, assuming he plays out the current season without being waived. The Clippers – or Brown’s new team, if he’s traded prior to February’s deadline – would not be permitted next summer to offer him a starting salary exceeding $4,792,058, which is the amount of the ’26/27 option being declined.
Brown, who played four years of college ball at Missouri, was the 30th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He will make $2,654,880 this season, which is his third in the NBA.
The 25-year-old combo forward hasn’t received much playing time with Los Angeles to this point in his career, making 84 appearances and averaging 7.9 minutes per game through two seasons. He has appeared in three games with the Clippers so far this fall, averaging just 4.7 MPG.
While his NBA role has been very modest, Brown has been a featured player at the G League level the past two years in the instances when he has been sent down for more reps. In six games (33.3 MPG) with the San Diego Clippers in 2024/25, Brown averaged 21.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals on .474/.366/.800 shooting.
We’re tracking all of this year’s rookie scale team option decisions right here.
Pacific Notes: Kings, Butler, Warriors, Clippers, K. Brown
Keegan Murray‘s thumb injury creates a difficult lineup decision for the Kings, who don’t have much reliable depth behind the former No. 4 overall pick at power forward, writes James Ham of The Kings Beat.
“It’s tough because Keegan has size, strength, athleticism and he shoots 40 percent [from 3-point range], I think everyone is looking for that,” head coach Doug Christie said on Sunday. “We have a couple of different guys that can equal Keegan, but we don’t have Keegan, so replacing him is definitely going to be difficult.”
The Kings have a pair of preseason games still to come on Wednesday and Friday, and Christie said he intends to “try a couple of different things” during those contests as he weighs his options for a fifth starter alongside Dennis Schröder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis.
As Ham writes, veterans Dario Saric and Drew Eubanks and rookies Nique Clifford and Maxime Raynaud are among the potential candidates for the role, but the Kings have more depth in the backcourt, where Malik Monk and Keon Ellis currently project to come off the bench. The team’s thin depth chart at the four is one reason why Sacramento was so interested in Warriors restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga this offseason, Ham notes.
We have more from around the Pacific:
- Warriors forward Jimmy Butler won’t play on Tuesday vs. Portland after spraining his ankle in a Friday practice, tweets Anthony Slater of ESPN. However, the injury isn’t considered serious and head coach Steve Kerr is hopeful that Butler will return for Friday’s preseason finale vs. the Clippers.
- After ESPN’s Kevin Pelton projected the Warriors to win 56 games, the second-most in the NBA, his ESPN colleague Zach Kram breaks down why Golden State could be more dangerous than the general consensus suggests. Kram cites Al Horford‘s potential impact, a well-balanced roster, and the fact that the Warriors have fewer obvious question marks than several of their Western Conference rivals.
- Within a report detailing how the NBA approved the Clippers‘ initial sponsorship agreement with the green-bank company Aspiration in 2021, Bobby Marks and Baxter Holmes of ESPN note that people familiar with the investigation into the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard believe the probe will take months, perhaps not wrapping up until after the 2026 playoffs. The league hired the law firm Wachtell Lipton, Rosen & Katz to look into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap by paying Leonard via a separate “no-show” endorsement deal with Aspiration.
- Clippers forward Kobe Brown, a first-round pick in 2023, believes he’s a “way better” player now than he was when he entered the NBA two years ago, but he also recognizes that his role may still be limited due to the team’s impressive veteran depth, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. He’s OK with that if head coach Tyronn Lue determines it’s what’s best for the club. “If the team’s winning, I’m winning,” Brown said. “I don’t look at it as a negative thing. I just do my job basically.”