ESPN recently told the story of how Denzel Valentine ended up wearing Michael Jordan’s number 45 on the Chicago Bulls.
[jwplayer PPs4Ox8k]
With the terrific Last Dance documentary playing on ESPN these last few weeks, there has been renewed interest in Michael Jordan’s time with the Chicago Bulls. This week’s episode partially focused on Jordan’s brief retirement and eventual return in 1995 where he donned the No. 45 jersey for 22 games. There is a new Chicago Bulls player, also a first round pick (No. 14), who wears the No. 45 jersey, former Michigan State Spartan Denzel Valentine, and Eric Woodyard of ESPN told the story of how that came to be yesterday.
According to Valentine’s father Carlton, who also played for MSU between 1984-88, Denzel was originally slated to wear No. 23, the same number as Draymond Green, but Green filled him in at a workout at the MAC in East Lansing that his son had other plans, documented in the ESPN story:
“Denzel is about to wear your number,” Carlton said to Green.
“Naw, Denzel ain’t wearing my number,” Green told Carlton.
“What you talkin’ bout?”
“Denzel is wearing 45.”
Denzel Valentine first came out in the No. 45 jersey at Midnight Madness in the fall, in a moment that his father Carlton said was extremely emotional for him:
“I was sobbing uncontrollably,” Carlton said. “For him to wear 45 at Michigan State, that’s the highest honor that a son can tell his father that, ‘Hey, I’m going to wear your number.”
Valentine kept that number with him upon entering the NBA with the Bulls and although the No. 45 is still associated with MJ, despite the small amount of games played in that number, Valentine has been able to keep it without much pushback:
“I felt like mostly everybody was supportive,” Denzel said of his choice to wear No. 45. “It was probably about 80% of the people supportive and probably 20% that were like, ‘Why did you do that? Why did you take MJ’s number? Blah, blah, blah.’ But I didn’t have a lot of people that were hating on me, to be honest.”
The Philadelphia 76ers have turned their attention to Chicago Bulls guard Denzel Valentine.
The NBA trade deadline continues to quickly approach and for the Philadelphia 76ers, something must be done and quickly. They cannot continue to go on with this awkward roster if they want to contend for a championship.
They have shown interest in shooters recently such as Bogdan Bogdanovic and Robert Covington, but now they have turned their attention to another in Chicago Bulls guard Denzel Valentine.
Denzel Valentine. According to two rival executives, the 76ers and Grizzlies are possible landing spots for the former lottery pick, who had fallen completely out of favor with coach Jim Boylen before the recent spate of injuries forced him back into the lineup. Valentine for Zhaire Smith; who says no?
Valentine has played 30 games for Chicago and is averaging 5.8 points and is shooting 35.6% from deep. It’s not great, but it’s something. The Sixers need all of the available shooting they can get with this roster. They cannot continue on with this lack of spacing on the offensive end. It’s killing everything they want to do.
The trade deadline Thursday at 3:00 p.m. EST. [lawrence-related id=24922,24912,24900]
HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in trade rumors over the past week, including Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge.
There hasn’t been a shortage of NBA trade rumors over the past week, and as we get closer to February, the scuttle will only continue to become more frequent, a trend we’re already starting to see now, in early January.
Below, HoopsHype ranks the five players who have popped up the most in rumors on the site’s Trade page over the past week.
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
5. KEVIN LOVE
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ attempts to trade Kevin Love have not been fruitful so far, with the latest rumors on this front telling us that league execs believe Cleveland will have to attach assets in a potential Love deal for a team to actually be interested.
Love certainly could help the Blazers, or Pacers, or Rockets. But that contract is hard to match up in a way that makes sense for Cleveland, which understandably is asking for a lot in return. “I don’t think Kevin has a lot of value,” a Western Conference executive said Monday. “The contract is obvious, but you know he is going to miss games with the toll on his body… I don’t see teams taking Kevin on (without) at least taking back a first-round draft pick or multiple seconds.”
Love’s injury history, age (31) and so-so production this season undoubtedly hurt his value, and that’s without even mentioning the fact that he’s set to be paid like a Top-20ish player for the next four seasons.
Cleveland might be better served playing the campaign out and trying to move Love again this offseason, in hopes his value rebounds over the course of the rest of the season.
Among the teams who have inquired about Covington, according to The Athletic, are the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets and, most interestingly, his old team, the Philadelphia 76ers. In that same report, however, it is clearly stated that Minnesota won’t trade Covington for cheap, even as they struggle through the 2019-20 campaign.
Covington is under contract for two more seasons after this one, for a total cost of just over $25 million, a fairly team-friendly price which surely factors in to the heavy interest teams appear to have in him.
Of course, his skill set, that of a 3-and-D specialist on the wing shooting over 35 percent from three, must also intrigue contenders league-wide.
First, San Antonio Express News’ Mike Finger reported that Aldridge hasn’t been placed on the trade block by the Spurs quite yet, but that if that were to happen, there would be plenty of takers, a logical conclusion considering Aldridge is averaging 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shattering a career-high three-point percentage of 43.7 on over 100 attempts from deep.
What’s more, per a report from the Miami Herald, one of those interested suitors could be the Miami Heat, who have been specifically been mentioned as a team looking forward to 2021 free agency, and who are projected to have max cap space that offseason. Landing Aldridge would give Miami a second All-Star to pair with Jimmy Butler – an All-Star who they have chased in free agency in the past, no less – and still allow them to maintain financial flexibility for the all-important 2021 offseason.
David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
2. DENZEL VALENTINE
For a lot of this season, the Chicago Bulls have made third-year guard Denzel Valentine a healthy scratch, handing him DNP-CD after DNP-CD, even as the team struggles for consistency and lacks veteran leadership a lot of the time.
That’s not to say Valentine would fix all of Chicago’s issues on his own, but he’s shooting nearly 39 percent from three over the last two seasons he’s played, and comes from a winning culture in college (Michigan State), so there’s no doubt he could contribute something for the Bulls if given the chance.
The rumored deal between the two teams would have included Chandler Parsons, Damian Jones (or Allen Crabbe, who has since been shipped to Minnesota) and a first-round pick, but now, it appears the Hawks will just chase Drummond in free agency this summer instead.
Another report this past week (courtesy of the New York Post) mentioned that the Knicks are also out on Drummond, which makes sense considering they’re nowhere near a playoff position so why swing a big move for a very expensive player now?
The expensive nature of Drummond’s deal could also make him a difficult sell for contenders lacking in the frontcourt, since salary-swapping on such large contracts can be tricky for teams already at or near the luxury tax.
Nevertheless, there’s a chance Drummond gets traded before next month anyway, so he’s still a player to keep an eye on ahead of the 2020 trade deadline.
You can follow Frank Urbina on Twitter: @FrankUrbina_.
