The former teammate of the Los Angeles Lakers star believes that LeBron’s athleticism will be with him for as long as he lives.
Lost in the shuffle of Thursday night’s showdown of MVPs and superstars between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks was a reunion of Lakers star LeBron James and Milwaukee Bucks reserve guard Kyle Korver.
James and Korver were teammates for nearly two seasons on the Cavaliers, with both of their postseasons together ending in trips to the NBA Finals. He was also a teammate of LeBron’s during the one season he played in all 82 games. With the topic of whether he should rest more games being that he will turn 35 in 10 days, Korver believes that the rules are just different for James as they have been for 42-year old Vince Carter, who is still playing in the league. Korver sees LeBron being able to dunk well into his retirement, whenever that is, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
“In his mind, playing every game, playing those minutes, he wanted to give Cleveland everything he had just in case (he left as a free agent),” Korver said. “Last year, I just think there was the frustration of not winning, and I think that wore on him more than anything. He is unbelievable, his ability to recover. I don’t know when he chooses to stop playing, how old he is, I feel like he still has a bunch of good years at this level. At some point you get older and your body doesn’t recover quite as fast as you want it to. But he’s still going to be dunking a basketball when he’s 70. He’s like Vince Carter in that way. They are going to be able to jump and dunk as long as they’re alive.”
Despite last night’s loss and the Lakers losing consecutive games for the first time this season, it’s indisputable that James is having the best season we’ve ever seen from someone in their 17th NBA season.
HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in trade rumors over the past week, including Kevin Love and Chris Paul.
As of Dec. 15, 123 players became eligible for trade that previously couldn’t be dealt. Because of that many expect activity on the trade market to finally start to pick up after a long dry spell.
Various big-name players have been bandied about over recent days, and though a huge deal may not seem imminent, one could spring up on us at any time.
Below, HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in rumors on the site’s Trade page over the past week.
Of course, he doesn’t control whether he gets dealt or not, and considering how well he’s playing and where the Knicks sit in the standings (13th in the East with a 7-21 record), odds are, if New York receives a worthy offer, the big man will be traded.
The latest on Morris’ trade market came courtesy of ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe, who had this exchange during a recent TV special:
“‘[The Clippers] thought they had Marcus Morris in July,’ said Wojnarowski. ‘That’s a player they had great interest with, that they saw who would fit with Paul George and with Kawhi Leonard. So, to see them revisit that is certainly plausible.’ Lowe added: ‘I would expect that package to be out there.'”
Morris is averaging a career-high 18.8 points this season, to go with 5.7 rebounds and 2.8 triples on fiery 43.1/47.7/86.1 shooting splits. He’d be a great addition to any contender.
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
4. CHRIS PAUL
Heading into the season, many expected Chris Paul, a veteran All-Star on an Oklahoma City Thunder team in Year-1 of a full rebuild, to get traded. And although that could still happen, it’s looking less and less likely the more information we receive on the matter.
The primary culprit for that is Paul’s enormous contract, which will pay him $41.4 million next year, in his age-35 season, and $44.2 million the year after, in his age-36 campaign. Simply put: That’s way too much money to be paying a diminutive floor general with a history of injury troubles, no matter how well he’s playing right now.
It’ll take a desperate team in a small market to even consider making a run at Paul, and even then, it probably won’t happen until his contract becomes an expiring deal. And that’s only if Paul is still producing at a high level, which may not be the case at that point in his career.
Paul is averaging 16.2 points, 6.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season.
Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
3. D’ANGELO RUSSELL
Another floor general who came into the season with a lot of trade buzz surrounding his name, D’Angelo Russell also seems likely to stay put through the season, at least if recent reports are to be believed.
Woj says he thinks it's more likely Golden State will wait until the summer to look at trading D'Angelo Russell rather than doing so in-season. Says it doesn't make much sense for Golden State to canvas the league in-season.
The issue with Russell and the Golden State Warriors is that when the Warriors are fully operational, he’d be the third-best guard on his own team while earning an enormous salary over the next four seasons. That would be a poor distribution of resources by Golden State, particularly when Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson get healthy.
Of course, Curry isn’t set to return until at least February while Thompson might not return at all until 2020-21, so the Warriors really don’t have a need to move Russell until next summer, where they can trade him for a player who would give them a more well-balanced roster.
Regardless, there are a few point-guard needy teams out there right now, and if one gets desperate enough for more scoring in their backcourt, we could see a deal before February’s trade deadline.
Russell is averaging 21.5 points and 6.2 assists in 2019-20.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
2. ANDRE IGUODALA
Former Warrior Andre Iguodala, unlike the two aforementioned point guards, is a player who looks likely be traded this season. Iguodala has yet to suit up for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are keeping him away from the team while they figure out what they’re going to do with the 2015 Finals MVP.
According to reports over the past week, coming from multiple reputable outlets, the teams that have interest in Iguodala include the Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Denver Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets.
The problem is, all of those teams are capped out, and Iguodala is owed $17.2 million this season, meaning both sides are going to have to get the salary swaps just right to make a deal work. In all likelihood, the contenders chasing Iguodala and the swingman himself are probably hoping the Grizzlies agree to a fair buyout with the almost-36-year-old, so that they’re able to sign him to recruit him, sign him to a team-friendly contract and not lose assets in a trade.
At the same time, the Grizzlies have little motivation to do that, so expect Iguodala ultimately to get traded over the next month and a half.
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
1. KEVIN LOVE
One of the likeliest trade candidates this season is Kevin Love, who hasn’t gone as far as to demand a trade, but made it clear – publicly – that if one does happen, he wouldn’t mind.
It’s obvious why Love is such a bandied-about trade prospect: He’s 31, playing on a team mostly full of up-and-coming players who are nowhere near ready to compete for even a playoff spot, let alone a title. That plus his huge contract make his future with the Cleveland Cavaliers look pretty murky.
There has been some back-and-forth over the past week on whether the Cavs will be able to land a first-round pick in exchange for Love, or whether they’ll have to give one up in order for someone to be willing to take his massive deal, but ESPN’s Zach Lowe thinks they’ll be able to pick up a coveted asset while mentioning the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns as potential suitors.
For what it’s worth, Love has no idea how this saga will end, telling The Athletic:
“Could I see [getting traded]? I could see … I just don’t … What’s going to happen with us this summer? Or at the trade deadline? I just don’t know. It’s just tough because, and I’m not a religious guy by any means, but the old saying ‘You want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans.’ Listen, obviously it’s a tough go right now. We’ve got (six) wins. But in some ways, the grass isn’t always greener. You just don’t know how the shit is going to shake out. Ever. In anything.”
Love might not be sure, but all signs point to him getting dealt prior to February.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
During an appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast, Kevin Garnett said the 2010 Celtics “broke” then Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James.
Just in case you were wondering, the Boston Celtics from the late 2000s and early 2010s are still salty about only getting one championship during a run when they believed they were the best team of the era.
The subject of those Celtics teams has come up more recently due to Adam Sandler’s new movie “Uncut Gems,” which stars the defensive and emotional leader of those Celtics teams, Kevin Garnett. Garnett joined Sandler in an interview with Bill Simmons on the Bill Simmons podcast, where they talked about the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals when LeBron finally got over the hump and beat the Celtics.
Garnett of course deflected talking about the 2012 Finals and instead went for one of the glory moments of his run in Boston, defeating LeBron in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals that sent him on his way to Miami later that summer.
“We broke LeBron. So get your a** out of here with that.”
OK, so remember that, alright? Stop bringing it up. So they was talking (expletive) to him, the media. And the league knew that they had an agenda in which we wasn’t a part of the agenda. And that’s how they ended up winning that series. Yeah, I said it…. Man listen, let me tell something to you. The C’s, we didn’t give a (expletive) about LeBron. We didn’t fear LeBron, and we didn’t think that he could beat all five of us. And that’s how it felt. He was trying to consolidate because he didn’t want the pressure on him. You understand?”
Things are still sensitive for Garnett and they probably always will be, given the way that he talked about it. James, of course, overcame a 3-2 series deficit in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals by putting together one of the best performances in playoff history by scoring 45 points in Boston to force a Game 7.
James and his Heat team would eventually win Game 7 before going on to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games in the 2012 NBA Finals, earning LeBron his first NBA title. LeBron’s career narrative can never be told without Boston and Garnett’s attitude, to this day, is a big reason why.
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was quick to remind reporters on that Howard once kept him from a Finals showdown with Kobe Bryant.
Let this be a lesson for people in the future wondering about asking LeBron James if anything that Dwight Howard does this season is something “special.” Because as LeBron himself reminded reporters last night, the subject of Howard having “special” performances is an issue that is uniquely personal to him.
While the Los Angeles Lakers snapped a 14-game road win-streak and a seven-game streak overall last night in Indiana, Howard had his best offensive game of the season with 20 points on a perfect 10 for 10 from the field.
But as you NBA historians will remember and James noted, Howard’s most special performance came at the cost of LeBron having a showdown that will always go down as one of the missed connections in NBA Finals history. Howard’s incredible 2009 Eastern Conference Finals kept LeBron out of the Finals and away from an NBA Finals showdown with Kobe Bryant.
LeBron James if he saw something special in Dwight Howard tonight as the Lakers big man went 10-for-10 from the field tonight: pic.twitter.com/ZY2HltSG9y
Ok so just to recap, LeBron is speaking in a little bit of a hyperbole here but the point stands that Dwight kept him from a meeting with Kobe in the Finals. Dwight’s actual averages were 25.8 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and 1.2 blocks per game. But this is why I’m here.
Oddly enough Howard only had seven total blocks in that series, it probably just felt like more since the Cavs had little success attacking him at the basket. LeBron may have also gotten somewhat confused with his own numbers in that series which sounded a lot more like the ones he attributed to Dwight of 35.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, eight assists as well as over one steal and one block per game in the six-game series.
Howard and the Magic played great against the Cavs but fell to the Lakers in five games in the 2009 NBA Finals as Kobe Bryant won his first championship after parting ways with Shaquille O’Neal.
Kevin Garnett says LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami because he couldn’t handle the pressure of facing the Celtics.
LeBron James’ decision to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami is commonly pointed to as the start of the modern superteam era that has dominated the NBA this decade, but before the Heat had a Big 3, the Boston Celtics won a title after assembling a team with three legendary players in Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.
James single-handedly led a historically weak Cavaliers roster to the NBA Finals in 2007, but just days after that series ended in a Spurs sweep, the Celtics acquired Allen in a trade. A month later, Boston welcomed Garnett in another major trade, and the new-look Celtics went on to win 66 games in the regular season and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
The Celtics eliminated LeBron’s Cavaliers from the playoffs in 2008 and 2010 before James relocated to Miami. The Heat then knocked the Celtics out 4-1 in 2011, but were pushed to the limit by Boston’s Big 3 in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, which went to seven games. In a conversation with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, Kevin Garnett said the Celtics lost that series because of an “agenda” that existed for LeBron’s team to win, and boasted that the Celtics “didn’t give a [expletive]” about James.
“We broke LeBron. So get your a** out of here with that.”
Bill Simmons: “Celtics win in Miami [in 2012], and they’re talking all kinds of [expletive] to LeBron. All kinds of [expletive that whole game. Correct or incorrect? You’re trying to get into his head. You feel like you can break LeBron at this point.”
Kevin Garnett: “We broke LeBron, so get your [expletive] out of here with that. You understand how he got to Cleveland, how he got to Miami, Bill? You remember that?”
Simmons: “Oh that’s true. You broke him in 2010. Fair enough.”
Garnett: “OK, so remember that, alright? Stop bringing it up. So they was talking [expletive] to him, the media. And the league knew that they had an agenda in which we wasn’t a part of the agenda. And that’s how they ended up winning that series. Yeah, I said it…. Man listen, let me tell something to you. The C’s, we didn’t give a [expletive] about LeBron. We didn’t fear LeBron, and we didn’t think that he could beat all five of us. And that’s how it felt. He was trying to consolidate because he didn’t want the pressure on him. You understand?”
The Heat were down 3-2 in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals after a Game 5 loss at home, but James had one of the greatest performances of his career on the road in Game 6. James finished the game with 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Miami to a 98-79 win.
After over a month of the college basketball season, we are starting to get a better picture of what the 2020 NBA Draft will look like.
After over a month of the college basketball season, we are starting to get a better picture of what the 2020 NBA draft will look like.
For example, Georgia Bulldogs freshman Anthony Edwards is beginning to separate himself as a near-consensus No. 1 overall pick. On the other side of the coin, though, several of the projected top selections (LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, Cole Anthony and RJ Hampton) will miss extended time due to either injury or suspension.
In order to get a better read of the bigger picture, we collected opinions from the top experts and analysts that cover the draft. The latest 2020 NBA mock drafts from ESPN, CBS Sports, SI.com, Bleacher Report, NBADraft.net, The Athletic as well as USA Today Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire were used for these rankings.
Cassius Winston, Aaron Henry, Xavier Tillman in top-45 of The Athletic's NBA Draft Big Board https://t.co/LFrVsMcvZD
One of the most interesting takeaways is that the Michigan State Spartans have three players (Cassius Winston, Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman) all trending up.
After making the Final Four in last year’s March Madness, the program was expected to take another leap forward for their 2019-20 campaign.
Despite three losses in their first 10 games, the Spartans still rank No. 15 overall this season. This can be attributed to the fact Michigan State currently has the third-best offense in college basketball, per KenPom.com.
They also have three of the most improved players since our last aggregate mock draft. The full list, and more on each of the MSU players moving up draft boards, is included below.
Since our last AMD, this has moved up 17 spots in our rankings.
Despite already being 21 years old, the 6-foot-1 guard currently has a first-round grade from ESPN as well as Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports.
Winston has been one of the best distributors since he began at MSU. 67.1 percent of all field goals for the Spartans have been assisted, which is the sixth-most among all teams so far this season. His career assist rate (44.1 percent) ranks No. 1 overall among all college players who have played at least 50 games since 2009-10, via Sports-Reference.
With 7 assists today vs Rutgers, Cassius Winston now has the 2nd-most career assists (770) in Big Ten History, passing Illinois’ Bruce Douglas.
Winston is now just 46 assists behind Mateen Cleaves for the conference career record (816). pic.twitter.com/BLzMQGjpzx
During his freshman season, he had the second-best assist rate (46.7 percent) in the NCAA. Then as a sophomore, his assist rate (43.5 percent) trailed only Trae Young for the best in college basketball. Last season, his assist mark (44.8 percent) ranked third-best and behind only Ja Morant among all who played for teams that made the tournament.
But he has also shown strength as one of the more accurate shooters in the NCAA.
Winston was 75-for-151 (49.7 percent) from beyond the arc in 2017-18. That helped him join the exclusive 50-40-90 club for field-goal percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage. Even as a sophomore then, the guard was one of the few to have a membership with at least two three-point attempts per game.
There is some enough NBA readiness to show he can contribute right away for a winning team.
Aaron Henry, Wing
AMD Rank: 33
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Since our last AMD, this has moved up 26 spots in our rankings.
Henry was of the players who helped himself the most during the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Then a freshman, he put up 20 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists during a victory over LSU.
While he has not yet taken the leap some expected as a sophomore, draft experts still have confidence in him as a prospect. His highest ranking right now comes from Jonathan Wasserman, who has him at No. 28 overall (via Bleacher Report):
“The eye test on Henry looks more convincing than the numbers. He isn’t a high-level creator, which limits him in Michigan State’s offense. But the 6’6″ guard is hitting open shots, capitalizing on driving lanes and making impact defensive plays. This late, teams will overlook Henry’s production for his fit.”
Perhaps the best news for the wing is that there is room for improvement. However, there have also been moments that show what Henry is capable of accomplishing at the next level.
This season, for example, the sophomore has been one of the most effective shooters off the catch. He is averaging 1.78 points per possession on catch-and-shoot attempts in a set offense, per Synergy Sports, which ranks in the 98th percentile.
Henry is also shooting 72.7 percent at the rim, which is an especially solid rate for a wing. Overall, he looks like someone capable of being a 3-and-D player in an NBA rotation.
Xavier Tillman, Big
AMD Rank: 50
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Since our last AMD, this has moved up 13 spots in our rankings.
Michigan State has always been a team that plays better with Tillman on the court. Last season, for example, the big actually had the third-best box plus-minus in the NCAA — trailing only Zion Williamson and Brandon Clarke.
Jeremy Woo recently helped contextualize what professional teams may like about the 6-foot-8 junior (via SI.com):
“Tillman specializes in doing the dirty work and has been a largely unheralded yet invaluable piece of the Spartans’ success dating back to last season. He’s not particularly tall for a center but has a chance to be a quality rotational big in the pros with what he adds defensively and on the glass. Tillman has worked on extending his shooting range, and if he ends up being able to shoot the three, he’ll have a fairly strong window of opportunity as a role player. A lot of the things he does as a screener and defender don’t show up in the box score, and while he’ll never be more than a fourth or fifth offensive option, he might be able to thrive in that capacity.”
His best trait so far this season has been his ability to cut to the basket. He is shooting 15-for-17 (88.2 percent) on these attempts, per Synergy.
But he has also added value on the offensive glass and as a rim protector for Michigan State. His willingness and ability to make the most of time on the floor makes him a draftable professional prospect.
After a near silent few months of trade rumors, rumblings league-wide are beginning to pick up. We have the latest stirrings for you here.
TRADE SZN STIRRING: You know trade season is about to pick up when Woj is getting his own half-hour ESPN specials to discuss the latest rumblings in the Association. Among the rumors discussed by Woj and Zach Lowe:
LET THE TRADES BEGIN: Yesterday, 123 players had their trade restrictions – stemming from them signing new contracts this past summer – lifted.Here is every single guy who can now be traded.
YESTERDAY IN THE ASSOCIATION: One team continues to roll while another continues to do the opposite of that.
🔥 The Lakers defeated the Hawks 101-96 to improve to 24-3 on the year. It wasn’t their most impressive victory, but the fact they refuse to lose on the road this season is insane in its own right. LeBron James finished the contest with 32 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while Anthony Davis had 27 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.
😲 The Pelicans lost their 12th game in a row on Sunday, falling 130-119 to the Orlando Magic… at home.Head coach Alvin Gentry’s job appears to be safe for now, but if the losing continues, it would be easy to foresee first-year GM David Griffin bringing in his own guy to lead New Orleans. Markelle Fultzthrew down this nifty dunk in that same game.
(NOT) HOT SEAT: The Bulls have been an abject disaster this season relative to expectations, placing a lot of heat on head coach Jim Boylen’s job security. Regardless, Chicago general managerJim Paxson publicly endorsed his head coach on Saturday anyway.
A RETURN APPROACHING:Jusuf Nurkic says he’s 60 percent complete with rehab, and was seen doing more physical activity at practice recently. Portland, 10-16, desperately needs their big man to get healthy as soon as possible.
SWINGMAN RETURNS: Wilson Chandler made his return for the Nets yesterday after missing the first 25 games of the season due to testing positive for a banned substance. He played 19 minutes and scored seven points in a 109-89 Brooklyn victory over the Sixers.
ATTEMPTED COMEBACK: Six-time All-Star Amare Stoudemire has left the Chinese CBA and returned to South Floridain hopes of making an NBA return.
FASCINATING JOURNEY: St. Thomas More is an all-boy boarding school with an enrollment of 125, located in Connecticut. Why are we telling you that?Because that tiny school somehow produced three NBA players, all of whom play on the Golden State Warriors this season. Crazy.
CLUTCH LIKE DADDY: LeBron James Jr., in a nationally televised game against his father’s alma mater, with his father in attendance,hit a game-winning layup and was named MVP of the contest over the weekend. It would be really cool if we got to see both James men in the NBA at the same time one day.
The Golden State Warriors were easily the most dominant NBA team in the 2010s decade. What teams followed them? Our full rankings included.
The end of the decade is upon us, which a good time to look at the teams that thrived and those that took a nosedive over the 2010s.
For clarity, the period examined begins with the 2010-11 NBA season and ends Dec. 12, 2019, rather than bridging games that were played in the second half of 2009-10. Remember, the 2011-12 season was limited to 66 games due to a players’ strike.
30. Sacramento Kings
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The Kings have been consistent … as in consistently under .500. The last time the franchise had a winning season was 2005-06. It will be interesting to see if they can get over the .500 mark this go-round. The Kings are currently flirting with .500 but still under.
