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The HoopsHype Daily: Blake Griffin might get shut down for the year, and the Pistons are in an impossible spot

The Pistons have an expensive, mediocre roster. There’s no worse place to be. And Griffin might miss the rest of the year. So what’s next?

A TROUBLING FUTURE: With yesterday’s news about Blake Griffin’s injury, indicating that the All-Star big man might get shut down for the season, one has to wonder about what the future holds not just for Griffin, but the Detroit Pistons as a whole. As is, the team boasts a 13-24 record and has the league’s 10th-worst net rating, trailing the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns, amongst many others. And they’re doing that with the sixth-most expensive roster in the NBA.

Luckily for Detroit, some of their bad money does come off the books this summer, as Reggie Jackson and Langston Galloway will hit free agency and Josh Smith will no longer be owed any more buyout checks from the Pistons. But they have other roster questions that need to be answered.

For starters, what are they going to do with Griffin, who looked like an All-Star last season but could not get it going whatsoever this year due to lingering knee issues. Could the team decide to trade Griffin, with his value at an all-time low? Unlikely, unless they’re willing to attach assets to the deal, which would be shortsighted. And what does the future hold for Andre Drummond, who is receiving a ton of trade interest this season and is all but certain to hit free agency in a few months? Detroit might be wise to ship the stud center and try to accrue some assets for the rebuild that is sure to come.

Because the one thing that is certain is that this brief run of Pistons basketball, which featured two playoff appearances in the last four years, is more than likely over.

LATEST TRADE SCUTTLE: With the NBA trade deadline just under a month away, scuttle league-wide is starting to get busier and busier. We have the latest.

🏀 The Kings are interested in Kyle Kuzma, and Bogdan Bogdanovic would be part of the deal. No, seriously. If anyone knows what in the world Sacramento is thinking here, please let us know.

🏀 Davis Bertans has blossomed into one of the best shooters in the league this year for Washington, and rival teams have taken notice. Philadelphia, Atlanta, the L.A. Lakers, Denver and Boston are reportedly interested in acquiring the sharpshooter. 

🏀 Teams are registering interest in Knicks big man Bobby Portis, who is shooting 38.2 percent from three this year. He’s essentially on the last year of his deal, too, since the 2020-21 portion of his contract has a team option on it, so Portis could be a solid investment for a contender. 

ROTATION PLAYER WAIVED: The Warriors will reportedly waive big man Marquese Chriss, who was averaging 7.3 points and 5.4 rebounds this year. The move will allow Golden State to promote Damion Lee from his two-way deal to a full-time contract.

MVP RANKINGS: For the first time in weeks, James Harden made the top selection in our MVP rankings a tough decision.

ALL-STAR FESTIVITIES: We received word on one surefire participant in the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest, and two players reportedly considering it. Dwight Howard, who’s enjoying a relative career renaissance with the Lakers, will join the festivities, while Ja Morant and Zach LaVine are thinking about it. Those two guards would put on an absolute show.

COMEBACK SEASON: Speaking of Howard, the Lakers are set to his fully guarantee his contract for the rest of the season, an easy decision to make considering Howard’s strong level of play off the bench this year.

NO PUNISHMENT: Despite spending most of Saturday’s game for the Cavs showing up his head coach, and reportedly berating his GM before that, Kevin Love won’t be disciplined by the organization. Interesting decision by Cleveland, to say the least.

TRAE’S DEVELOPMENT: When he was in ninth grade, Trae Young would shoot 500 threes a day, with 50 of those attempts coming from deep three-point range. It was the only way he could find a way to play back then, since he was 6-feet tall and weighed under 150 pounds. If it weren’t for that work ethic as a young kid, there’s no shot Young would be the player he’s become today, so kudos to him.

A CROSSROADS: Many expect Marcus Morris to get traded to a contender within the next month, but Morris has stated multiple times that he’d rather stay in New York. The New York Daily News argues the Knicks should keep Morris to prove to everyone they’re serious about turning things around as a franchise. 

FLOOR GENERALS: Point-guard whisperer Doc Rivers is trusting Patrick Beverley with calling plays on offense, much like he used to do with Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo. And though he really isn’t that type of point guard, the fact that his coach has put that much trust in him can only be motivational for Beverley.

DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Pacers big man Myles Turner made waves recently by deactivating his social media platforms. Although he was forced to reactivate his social media due to business obligations, he thinks those platforms can be toxic for someone in his position and that he started playing better once he disconnected. 

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The HoopsHype Daily: Third-year Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma could be the next big name traded this season

According to reports, the Lakers are more willing to trade Kuzma than they were previously. What is the third-year forward’s trade value?

KUZMA ON THE MOVE? As the trade market starts to heat up, bigger and bigger names are starting to make their way into league-wide scuttle. We have no bigger example of that from this weekend than Kyle Kuzma. According to a report from The Athletic’s Sam Amick, the Lakers have shown a recent willingness to listen to pitches for the third-year forward, and though nothing worthwhile has come through yet, the fact they’re even open to the idea is noteworthy in its own right.

On the year, Kuzma’s numbers – 11.8 points and 3.5 boards per game on 42.0/34.6/73.7 shooting splits – are down, which is to be expected considering the new role he has on a contending team, a far-cry from the Lakers teams of seasons past when Kuzma could light it up freely on a nightly basis. Regardless, while a lot of young players use their third season to hit the next level in their development, Kuzma is struggling – and that could put a hamper on his perceived trade value around the league.

Kuzma does have legitimate reasons to excuse his slow third campaign. After all, just in the last three months, the Utah product has had to deal with a stress reaction in his foot, an eye abrasion and an ugly ankle injury that have all forced him to miss time. Plus, sometimes players just struggle to acclimate with playing alongside LeBron James, especially when those players are used to dominating the rock themselves.

At the end of the day, maybe a change of scenery could benefit Kuzma (while possibly landing the Lakers a win-now veteran), away from the bright lights and distractions of L.A. and able to focus just on basketball. 

MORE TRADE SCUTTLE: Kuzma wasn’t the only player mentioned in trade rumors over the weekend.

🏀 Kevin Love’s displeasure with the Cavs continues to manifest himself, as the big man blew up on Cleveland GM Koby Altman on Saturday, going off about his “disgust” with the Cavaliers organization. It’s probably only a matter of time until he gets his way and is traded, especially since Cleveland just can’t afford to have Love behaving like this so publicly every game.

🏀 Marcus Morris continues to reiterate that he would prefer to stay in New York long term, as rumors swirl about contenders being interested in the tough-nosed power forward.

🏀 Teams like Atlanta, Boston, Toronto and Dallas are interested in acquiring Detroit big man Andre Drummond, who will likely hit free agency this summer.

FRESH POD: Our own Alex Kennedy is joined by Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus to discuss the latest NBA trade buzz, among a variety of other topics. 

KYRIE UPDATE: All-Star guard Kyrie Irving spoke to the media for the first time in months to address his injury recovery. He’s doing better, but still struggling when lifting his arms on his jump shot, so he might not be back for a while.

NO RESPECT: Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle blew up on NBA officiating after a recent game, saying that opponents are beating the s— out of – and taking liberties with – Luka Doncic, insinuating that the star Slovenian deserves more whistles than he’s getting.

FAVORABLE SCHEDULING: Carlisle might be displeased with the state of officiating against his team at the moment, but he can’t be mad at the schedule-makers, as the Mavericks and Lakers are the two teams with the fewest back-to-back games since 2000.

LOPEZ DOMINATION: The analytics say that Milwaukee has the best statistical interior defense in modern league history. The work done by Brook and Robin Lopez deserves a lot of credit.

ALL-STAR’S FUTURE: Pretty much as soon as the Warriors acquired D’Angelo Russell, the near immediate belief was that they did so in order to trade him at a later date. Russell hopes that isn’t the case, as he would like to stay in San Francisco.

BLOWING IT UP? The Pistons are 13-23 and sit 11th in the East, with a plethora of injuries hurting their expensive roster. Pistons owner Tom Gores recently spoke to the media and said the team going to evaluate everything, so it looks like a rebuild could be next for Detroit.

BIG MAN THEORIES: Despite the modernization of the NBA big man, who is now often expected to space the floor for their teams, old-school bigs like Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing think Joel Embiid and his modern center contemporaries should get in the post and dominate.

SIXERS NOT UNDERACHIEVING? Analytics-focused website FiveThirtyEight argues that Philadelphia hasn’t disappointed this year and can still contend, it’s just that the East is stronger than many expected it to be. 

ALL-STAR SNUB: After being snubbed from All-Star festivities last year, the fans are ignoring Rudy Gobert’s candidacy yet again, as the French big did not rank among the 10 leading frontcourt vote-getters in the West. The Athletic breaks down whether Gobert deserves to be an All-Star this season.

SLICK SNEAKS: Damian Lillard’s sneakers, the Adidas Dame 6s, will get a Stone Cold Steve Austin theme. They look absolutely awesome.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead early fan voting for 2020 All-Star Game

EURO-FLAVORED ALL-STAR VOTING: The first returns for 2020 All-Star fan voting have arrived , and boy, are the results a doozy. First and foremost, it has to be mentioned that Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the voting thus far, giving the …

EURO-FLAVORED ALL-STAR VOTING: The first returns for 2020 All-Star fan voting have arrived, and boy, are the results a doozy. First and foremost, it has to be mentioned that Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the voting thus far, giving the 2020 All-Star game a heavy Euro flavor. Yes, that means Doncic outpaced LeBron James himself in votes, which just goes to show what a global brand the 20-year-old Slovenian already is. The fact that he found so much success in Real Madrid earlier in his career, one of the biggest clubs in the world, probably helped him out just a bit in that matter.

We also have to talk about Trae Young’s apparent popularity among fans. The sharpshooting, ball-handling wizard leads all guards in the East in votes, beating out the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker, who play in two major markets. In contrast, out west, Rudy Gobert is getting snubbed by fans for the second year running, as the French big man did not rank among the 10 leading frontcourt vote-getters. Comparing Young’s popularity to Gobert’s shows a pretty interesting juxtaposition in how fans view the importance of defense.

Derrick Rose also remains quite popular among fans, as the former league MVP sits fourth in the East among guards in votes, beating out Ben Simmons and Bradley Beal. What’s more, it’s intriguing to note that in contrast to earlier years, the injured superstars aren’t getting much love in this year’s All-Star fan votes. Stephen Curry sits fourth in the West in votes while Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant didn’t place in the Top 10 in their categories. Back in the day, Yao Ming and Kobe Bryant would get voted in without even playing.

POTENTIAL ALL-STAR DEBUTANTS: Now that we’ve seen the first All-Star-fan-vote returns, which account for 50 percent of the players’ vote (the media and current players fill out the other 50 percent), we ranked the 12 players who are likeliest to make their All-Star debuts this season. 

LAST NIGHT IN THE ASSOCIATION: The Heat made a statement in the East by taking down the Raptors for the second time this season, by a final score that looked like it came straight out of the ’90s, 84-76. It was the second-lowest scoring game of the season. Denver also pulled out an impressive win, on the road against Indiana, 124-116. Michael Porter Jr. continues to impress for the Nuggets, scoring 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting. If he pans out… Denver is going to be scary.

TRADE MONGERING: We rank the five players who have been mentioned the most in trade rumors over the past week. Karl-Anthony Towns made a surprising appearance on this list.

MVP PICTURE: As has been the case just about every week, Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the way in our Top-10 MVP candidate rankings. Nikola Jokic also made his way into the list this week for the first time this season.

SNEAKER FREE AGENCY: In a somewhat surprising bit of news, Jimmy Butler and Jordan Brand decided to part ways, making the Heat star a big-name sneaker free agent.

ACTUAL FREE AGENCY: The Warriors and Andre Iguodala reportedly have interest in a reunion, one that can’t take place until the summer when the 2015 Finals MVP hits free agency.

In other free agency news, the Nets reportedly plan to waive the injured David Nwaba and replace him on the roster with Justin Anderson, who is averaging 21.2 points and 6.9 rebounds in the G League this year.

INJURY UPDATES: Jonathan Isaac, who has blossomed into one of the top defenders in the league this year, is set to miss at least two months with a severe knee sprain. In Brooklyn, Caris LeVert, the crafty perimeter scorer, will make his return Saturday after missing roughly seven weeks of action.

UNCOVERING GEMS: The Heat and Raptors have mastered discovering diamond-in-the-rough types and turning them into legitimate NBA-level rotation players, and sometimes more than that. ESPN goes behind-the-scenes on how the two franchises are able to do that so frequently. 

REMEMBERING STERN: TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott discusses the complicated legacy of David Stern, who was brilliant but also ruthless.

A DEVELOPING UNICORN: Kristaps Porzingis is learning that he can make an impact even when he’s not scoring, an idea that’s helping turn him into a much more complete basketball player for Dallas. 

NO DRAMA: Joel Embiid played down rumors of turmoil within the Sixers’ locker room, saying that there’s “nothing going on” behind the scenes. He did hint, however, that Ben Simmons should be shooting threes when he’s open, which seems obvious at this point.

PHILANTHROPIC CONTRIBUTION: For those that don’t know, Australia is undergoing massive brush fires right now, creating a very scary situation in the country. Top 2020 draft prospect LaMelo Ball is putting his money where his mouth is, donating a month of his NBL salary to victims of the crisis.

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The HoopsHype Daily: David Stern, one of the greatest commissioners in sports history, passed away yesterday

Former NBA commissioner David Stern, one of the men who helped save the NBA, passed away on Wednesday.

RIP, DAVID STERN: Just 20 days after the NBA announced former league commissioner David Stern – who held the position for 30 years and helped take the NBA from having its championship series shown on tape delay to making it a global brand –  had suffered a brain hemorrhage, the 77-year-old passed away on Wednesday.

The outpouring of thoughts and prayers came from far and wide once the unfortunate news was announced, with both former and current players, including Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, leading the way.

Throughout his time as commissioner, Stern had to navigate occasionally difficult circumstances, like Malice in the Palace and MJ’s first retirement, but he always did so with aplomb, and the league always came out just fine on the other end of controversies. We made a gallery of some great Stern moments of the past, and going through it will help you realize how long, and how important, that man was to the game of basketball.

LAST NIGHT IN THE ASSOCIATION: The Lakers won their third game in a row, taking down the Suns 117-107 behind 57 combined points from Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Meanwhile, Milwaukee beat the Timberwolves 106-104, where Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 32 points and 17 rebounds. The league’s top contenders keep rolling.

Also, Carmelo Anthony made his return to Madison Square Garden as a member of the Blazers. The fans met him with loud cheers as his name was announced, and he went on to score 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The Knicks won, however, spoiling the return for Melo, by a final score of 117-93. The Blazers have now dropped five games in a row.

SECOND THOUGHTS? The NBA world was shocked when Darren Collison announced his surprise retirement prior to the season. Apparently he’s having second thoughts on the matter, though, as Woj is reporting that Collison is considering a February return to action.

His return won’t be to Indiana, however; Woj says Collison, who is originally from Rancho Cucamonga, CA, prefers to sign with either the Lakers or the Clippers should he go through with his comeback. Collison shot 42.4 percent from three over his last four seasons, so whoever does pick him up will be making a sneaky strong addition to their team.

TRADE SCUTTLE: As we welcomed 2020, we received a good bit of trade rumors from around the Association: There’s confidence the Cavs will find a Kevin Love trade by the February deadline. Love could be a trade target for the Suns, but Danilo Gallinari is a likelier option.

The Clippers are interested in Aron Baynes, whose floor-spacing from the 5 could be a game-changer for a contender.

Indiana isn’t looking to break up their supersized frontcourt of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis, despite previous reports that they might be thinking about it.

DOWNPLAYING RUMORS: The Athletic is reporting that sources both with Karl-Anthony Towns and the Timberwolves have downplayed any talk of the star big man being unhappy in Minnesota.

STATE OF DISARRAY: The Sixers have lost three games in a row (as well as six of their last nine), and Josh Richardson says a lack of accountability is a problem in their locker room right now. Things aren’t going so hot for Brett Brown’s guys at the moment.

BALANCING ACT: Derrick Rose would like to play more minutes, but physically, he just can’t anymore, says Pistons head coach Dwane Casey.

COUNT THE WINZ: Only two players won over 500 games in the 2010s, and they are LeBron James and James Harden. Here, we rank the 20 players with the most victories last decade.

A NEAR MEGA TRADE: The Knicks nearly traded for DeMarcus Cousins back in 2015, just before that year’s draft. That trade would have cost New York a first-round pick, the one that would go on to become Kristaps Porzingis. Fascinating to think about how different the league would be if that deal had actually happened.

ROZIER ON BOSTON: Former Celtics guard Terry Rozier talks about his old team, and why they’re having so much more success this year than last. Pretty much, he thinks this Boston team has much better chemistry than they did in 2018-19.

LACK OF CREATIVITY: Spurs legend Gregg Popovich says he finds today’s NBA boring, at least as far as the coaching aspect is concerned, because there’s a lack of innovation among head coaches in the league, who are too quick to steal from each other rather than invent something new.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: Welcome the new year with some of the NBA’s latest news, and some of our best from 2019

Along with some of the latest news out of the NBA, ring in the new year by reading some of our favorite content from 2019.

CONTENDERS INTERESTED IN TT: Playoff teams around the Association are eyeing Cavs center Tristan Thompson for a potential trade, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. Makes sense for a variety of reasons: Cleveland is in the early stages of a rebuild, Thompson is a veteran in a contract year and averaging 12.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

LOTTERY PICK OUT: Wizards big man Rui Hachimura is set to miss several more weeks after having groin surgery. That does not sound pleasant.

SLOW START: Al Horford was one of the offseason’s biggest acquisitions by the Sixers, but he’s struggled so far to acclimate with playing alongside Joel Embiid. Horford knows he can do better, and Philadelphia has to hope he figures it out soon.

BLING BLING: Lamar Odom is selling one of his NBA championship rings, and it could go for as much as $100,000.

BRIGHT FUTURE: Former 35-year-old NBA rookie Pablo Prigioni is now an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and many around the Association believe he has future head coach written all over him. 

HAPPY 2020! Take a look at some HoopsHype content as we enter the 20s:

TOP DOG FROM EACH TEAM: With the decade coming to a close, we pick the best player from each team for the 2010s. We went with Kevin Durant for the Thunder, which surely won’t cause any sort of reaction from the Oklahoma City fanbase.

BEST TO WORST: We rank every NBA team by their win percentage in the 2010s as the decade comes to a close. Shield your eyes, Kings fans.

IN THE MONEY: There’s 16 players owed at least $140 million in guaranteed salaries going forward. We rank them.

HOF 🏆 TALK: We ranked the Top 10 greatest Hall of Fame classes ever, but after next year’s inductees are announced, we might have to revise that list, because this group could eclipse most of the other ones we ranked.

LIFE ON THE ROAD: We spoke with beat writers covering typically lousy NBA franchises to see what that’s like. Drama can make great copy.

CLARKSON IN UTAH: We analyze the fit between the Jazz and their newest acquisition Jordan Clarkson, who they traded for last week. So far, the fit has been great, as Clarkson is averaging 14 points off the bench for his new team.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: The Golden State Warriors are eyeing Karl-Anthony Towns in case he wants out of Minnesota

Golden State are already planning who’s going to be part of their next great team. Karl-Anthony Towns is on their radar.

KAT TO GOLDEN STATE? The big fish many had pegged as Golden State’s top target is reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hits free agency in 2021. But according to The Athletic’s Ethan Strauss, the Warriors also have their eye on another elite big man, Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns.

Towns has been injured recently, but for the season, he’s putting up monstrous averages of 26.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists nightly. Despite that, however, the Timberwolves are struggling yet again to make noise in the West, as has been the case for a long time (besides that one impressive Jimmy Butler year). Minnesota is 12-20 in 2019-20, and have the league’s eighth-worst net rating at -3.3. And unless Towns is able to return from injury soon, the team risks falling even further out of the Western Conference playoff race.

So who’s to say Towns won’t get fed up at some point and demand a trade? Sure, he may love it in Minnesota now, but nobody wants to play in a perennial losing situation. Even so, the Timberwolves are under no obligation to trade Towns, who’s under contract through 2023-24, so Golden State’s dream of landing the elite big man is probably all for naught.

LAST NIGHT IN THE ASSOCIATION: Behind 28 points from Garrison Matthews (yes, that’s a real NBA player), the Wizards upset the Heat, who were playing their third game in four nights, by a score of 123-105. Out West, Phoenix scored a big road win over the Blazers thanks to 29 points from Kelly Oubre and 33 out of Devin Booker.

TOP DOG FROM EACH TEAM: With the decade coming to a close, we pick the best player from each team for the 2010s. We went with Kevin Durant for the Thunder, which surely won’t cause any sort of reaction from the Oklahoma City fanbase.

TRADE DEMAND UNDER FIRE: Kings big man Dewayne Dedmon hasn’t been shy to discuss the fact that he wants out of Sacramento. He even went so far as to tell the Sacramento Bee that he wants to be traded somewhere he’ll get to play, where his talents will be appreciated.

Well, being so public with trade demands is frowned upon in the NBA, so the league is investigating whether to fine the veteran center for his comments. Judging by how quickly Anthony Davis was fined for his public trade request last season, though, Dedmon should expect a letter from the NBA pretty soon.

AGENT SWITCH: Just the season after signing a huge contract extension with the Pacers, Myles Turner has switched representation, joining Bill Duffy and BDA Sports Management. Pretty odd timing there.

DOWN FOR THE COUNT: Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley is set to miss a few games due to a right wrist sprain, per Woj.

ROYAL BIRTHDAY: In honor of LeBron James’ birthday yesterday, ESPN dropped a cool piece where they ask a bunch of his associates, including Chris Paul and Draymond Green, for some of their favorite LeBron memories or anecdotes. 

THERE’S STILL BEEF: Jared Dudley did an in-depth interview with The Athletic, where they asked him a bunch of intense questions and he promised to be as forthright as possible. Spoiler alert: Dudley still doesn’t like Blake Griffin, who he once nearly got into a scuffle with in a game.

BACK TO HIS OLD SELF: Since David Fizdale was replaced by Mike Miller as Knicks head coach, Julius Randle has finally started to look like the player New York wanted to sign over the summer, averaging 22.6 points and 9.6 rebounds on 47.9/36.4/77.6 shooting splits in that stretch.

Randle gives Miller a lot of credit for his resurgence, as well as an improved level of confidence.

THIBS UPDATE: Tom Thibodeau still wants to coach in the NBA, which should come as a surprise to no one. There’s a lot of fun anecdotes in that piece, including a recap of what Thibs has been up to lately. Apparently, he’s been relaxing a lot, and even took a 10-day vacation in Miami. Live it up, Thibs.

BFFS: Despite it not even being half a season since he joined the Heat, Jimmy Butler already considers Goran Dragic one of his all-time favorite teammates.

MPJ HYPE: At one point a few years ago, Michael Porter Jr. was considered the top prospect for the 2018 draft class. After an injury forced him to fall all the way to the last pick of the lottery that year, the Nuggets might have landed themselves a steal with Porter, whose upside is enormous.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: With the trade deadline approaching, we go over some of the latest NBA trade scuttle

It was a busy weekend for trade scuttle around the NBA, and we’re here to recap all of what we heard since Friday, Dec. 27.

NBA TRADE RUMORS – THE LATEST: Over the past three days, an inordinate (at least by this season’s standards) amount of trade rumors were reported by a variety of reputable reporters, so we decided to recap some of the juiciest and most interesting stuff we heard.

YESTERDAY IN THE ASSOCIATION: LeBron James reached yet another milestone in a win and Lonzo Ball had one of his best games of the season.

James, on a night he had 13 points, six rebounds and 13 assists, reached the 9,000 career assist threshold. He now ranks ninth all-time in dimes. He’s also the only player in league history with over 9,000 assists and 9,000 rebounds for a career. Decent career so far there, LeBron.

Meanwhile, James’ former teammate Lonzo went off for 27 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, hitting a career-high seven threes in the process. Don’t look now but the Pelicans have won five of their last six games.

ATHLETE OF THE DECADE: Speaking of that LeBron guy, yesterday he was named the Associated Press’ Male Athlete of the Decade, edging out Tom Brady and Usain Bolt for the award. LeBron told the AP he has his eye on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time points record, so that should tell you how long he plans on sticking around. We’re not complaining.

BROTHERLY LOVE: Some more NBA history was made over the weekend, as Jrue, Justin and Aaron Holiday became the first trio of brothers to play in the same game when the Pelicans faced off with the Pacers. New Orleans came out on top, so Jrue now holds bragging rights over his two younger brothers, at least until they meet again in February.

THE THIRD BALL BRO: Speaking of popular basketball families, LiAngelo Ball has joined the Thunder’s G League team, the OKC Blue, as a practice player. In all honesty, that’s probably the closest he’s going to get to the NBA.

CLARKSON IN UTAH: We analyze the fit between the Jazz and their newest acquisition Jordan Clarkson, who they traded for last week. So far, the fit has been great, as Clarkson is averaging 14 points off the bench for his new team.

BEST TO WORST: We rank every NBA team by their win percentage in the 2010s as the decade comes to a close. Shield your eyes, Kings fans.

PROMISING DEBUT: Former mega-prospect Michael Porter Jr. had his first career start for the Nuggets last night and was awesome, scoring 19 points on 10 field-goal attempts, including this nasty dunk in traffic, to go with six boards. If Porter reaches his full potential, Denver is going to be an absolute force for years to come.

FIGURING IT OUT: Spurs fans have been frustrated this year with Gregg Popovich’s use of former first-round pick Lonnie Walker. Recently, Rudy Gay talked about the talented young guard, stating that Walker is finally starting to understand how to make a bigger impact for San Antonio.

DUNK CONTEST HYPE: Zach LaVine (along with Aaron Gordon) put on one of the greatest dunk exhibitions in history a few years ago. Well, LaVine says he’s open to doing the Dunk Contest again this year, which would be great considering the last few Dunk Contests were relative duds.

STILL TRYING TO PLAY: Jamal Crawford is enjoying spending time with his family, but says he’s still not retired even though he turns 40 in March.

NO BEEF: Buddy Hield complained to the media last week about Kings head coach Luke Walton and his lack of trust in his players. Hield walked that back over the weekend, saying that he apologized to his teammates for making his gripes public and that he and his coach are on better terms now.

NCAA WATCH: Losing James Wiseman was a blow for the college game, but there are a few other big men in the NCAA with NBA potential who should have your attention.

SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔

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The HoopsHype Daily: The Clippers and Sixers both made major statements on Christmas

Christmas’ two biggest games, Clips/Lakers and Sixers/Bucks, answered a lot of questions. Two of those teams now look like potential Finals favorites.

YESTERDAY IN THE ASSOCIATION: A struggling team pulled a huge upset while a couple of contenders made major statements against conference rivals.

🔥 Despite trailing by as many as 15 points, the Clippers came alive in the fourth quarter, taking down the Lakers 111-106. Kawhi Leonard had 35 points on 19 field-goal attempts while Pat Beverley had the game-sealing block on LeBron James that sealed things. In the East, the Sixers smashed the conference-leading the Bucks 121-109 for their most impressive win of the season. Joel Embiid was huge, scoring 31 points and securing 11 rebounds, all while spending a lot of the game slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 18 points on 8-for-27 shooting for his worst outing of the year.

😲 The super depleted Warriors took down the Rockets 116-104 for their best win of the season. Draymond Green led the way for the Dubs with 20 points and 11 boards while Damion Lee had 22 points and 15 rebounds of his own. Russell Westbrook was a mess for the Rockets, scoring 32 points on 11-of-32 shooting and 0-for-8 from three.

LEBRON TO MISS TIME? ESPN is reporting that several members of the Lakers’ organization approached LeBron about sitting out to rehab his groin injury, which he re-aggravated during the team’s loss to the Clippers on Christmas. Concerning, considering L.A. is on a four-game losing streak as is, but the Lakers would be smart to look at the big picture here.

IGGY ON THE MOVE? There’s no doubt Andre Iguodala isn’t long for Memphis. The Grizzlies are in the midst of a complete rebuild, and Iguodala, 35, doesn’t come close to fitting that timeline. Iguodala is on the final year of his current contract, one that pays him $17.2 million this season.

That large price tag has contenders hoping that Memphis will come to an agreement on a buyout with the 2015 Finals MVP, but according to the latest reports out of Tennessee, the Grizzlies remain confident they won’t have to do that, and that they’ll be able to find a trade destination for Iguodala.

KAT TO NYK? The New York Knicks are reportedly monitoring Karl-Anthony Towns in case he becomes disgruntled with the Timberwolves, who are – yet again – struggling in the Western Conference Playoff race.

JACKSON MOVING AGAIN? After declining his team option for 2020-21, the Grizzlies reportedly could decide to trade Josh Jackson merely half-a-season after acquiring him from the Suns.

😕 There’s no doubt Jackson, the No. 4 overall pick in 2017, has been a bust to this point in his career, but he’s averaging 12.3 rebounds and 4.5 rebounds through two seasons, so if he can get his head on straight, there’s a chance he’ll be able to turn things around. Jackson has yet to play a minute for Memphis this season.

CHRISTMAS RECORDS: Here’s every team’s winning percentage on Christmas, the all-important NBA day. The Miami Heat lead the way with a 10-2 record and 83.3 win rate on Christmas.

JR WANTS WORK: Someone please sign JR Smith so he can stop having to pitch himself to teams on Twitter. Thanks in advance.

CHRISTMAS CHEER: Kyle Kuzma spent Christmas with his family for the first time in seven years. Kuzma opens up about what it was like to constantly be in trade rumors over his first two seasons in that piece.

BOWMAN BALLING: Warriors guard Ky Bowman is playing great basketball, especially considering he’s a rookie on a 2-way deal earning under $80,000 this year. Bowman has been forced into action this year due to injuries, and he only has 13 NBA days left before Golden State has to send him to the G League for the rest of the year. 

🤔 If the Warriors want to sign Bowman to a regular deal, they’ll have to cut someone else on to open up the necessary roster spot. A tough decision looms in Golden State. Bowman discusses the tricky situation here.

ALL-STAR RETURN DATE SET? Woj is reporting that Pacers All-Star 2-guard is expected to return to action by late January or early February. This is the firmest timeline we’ve gotten for Oladipo’s return yet.

KIDD/VOGEL DYNAMIC: Many thought Lakers assistant coach Jason Kidd would be a source of controversy on the Lakers bench, especially after he tried to lobby for the head coaching job when Luke Walton got fired. That hasn’t been the case, though, as Kidd and Frank Vogel have a solid relationship thus far this season.

FINDING RELIGION: Amidst a very difficult season for the Blazers, Damian Lillard says getting closer to God since the summer has helped him keep peace of mind. 

TURNING TO CANNABIS: 16-year NBA veteran Al Harrington has a new business venture, a cannabis company called Viola. The former big man is now championing for the NBA to allow players to use cannabis as a pain reliever, since studies say it’s the healthier option to opioids, which can be addictive.

DAVID ‘BEETHOVEN’ ROBINSON: David Robinson’s dad was a pianist who loved to play the music of Beethoven as a young Robinson would watch along. Now, Robinson has been tapped as the honorary chairman of the Gurwitz International Piano Competition, a very cool honor for the Hall-of-Fame big man.

NEW HOMEOWNER: Hawks point guard Trae Young has purchased his first home, a $1.5 million crib with 8,100 square footage.

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The HoopsHype Daily: With the Dante Exum for Jordan Clarkson swap, the great NBA trade drought of 2020 is over

Jordan Clarkson is going to Utah and Dante Exum is going to Cleveland but, more importantly, let the NBA trade season begin!

REJOICE, WE HAVE A TRADE! After a dry spell that lasted 160 days, the great NBA trade drought of 2019 is finally over. It wasn’t a major deal that ended the drought, but this could signal more deals are on the way, particularly as we enter January. On Monday, the Cavaliers agreed to send Jordan Clarkson to Utah in exchange for 2014 draft bust Dante Exum and two future second-round picks.

Clarkson will surely provide a boost to the Jazz’s bench scoring, as the explosive guard is averaging 14.6 points this season while shooting over 37 percent from beyond the arc. For a Utah team that ranks 21st league-wide in offensive efficiency, Clarkson could wind up being a big addition. What’s more, considering the 27-year-old is on the final year of his contract, this deal looks like it could be a savvy rental for the Jazz.

On the other side of things, Exum heads to a Cleveland team in the early stages of a complete rebuild. The Australian ball-handler is the exact type of player the Cavs should be targeting: He’s young, has upside and desperately needs a change of scenery. Perhaps going to Cleveland will help Exum start to resemble the player who was drafted fifth overall five years ago. His deal is relatively team-friendly, too, with the Cavaliers only owing Exum two years and $19.2 million.

MORE POTENTIAL TRADE TARGETS: ESPN reports back from the Las Vegas G League Showcase, where execs from every team convened this past weekend. Apparently various league execs believe Evan Fournier could be traded before February. League execs also voted Jrue Holiday as the player teams would be most willing to risk assets in order to acquire.

JAZZ WAIVE VETERAN: Utah is reportedly waiving veteran forward Jeff Green, which was surprising, considering the news came out less than an hour after the Jazz lost to the Heat on Monday night. Green was averaging 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds this season.

In a related move, Utah is reportedly signing G League guard Rayjon Tucker, who averaged 23.8 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Bucks’ G League squad this year.

PARSONS OPENS UP: We had a nice conversation with Chandler Parsons, who opened up about the injuries he’s suffered and the idea that he’s the most overpaid player in the league. Parsons told us: “I think anybody with a brain in my situation would have taken the contract. Should I have predicted that I was going to be hurt and took less or took half the money? That’s psychotic. Now the contract is what it was and, obviously, I didn’t live up to it.”

💰 Can’t say he’s wrong. Parsons is on the final year of a four-year, $94.4 million contract; he’s the 45th-highest paid player in the league this season.

MVP RANKINGS: We have ranked the Top 10 players in the 2019-20 MVP race. Giannis is holding steady while LeBron is starting to slip.

UNCLE DENNIS: The Athletic dropped a bombshell report on Kawhi Leonard’s free agency, where Sam Amick said league sources told him Uncle Dennis, Kawhi’s infamous uncle/agent, was asking teams for part ownership of whichever team Leonard signed with, a private plane that could be used at any point, a house and a guaranteed amount of off-court endorsement money. The league reportedly launched an investigation into the accusations, but they found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Clippers.

🤦 Shoot your shot, Uncle Dennis.

WAITERS DONE? League execs refer to Dion Waiters’ contract as one of the most untradeable they’ve ever seen, and believe the mercurial 2-guard’s NBA career could be over, barring a huge change in the situation between him and Miami.

LEBRON VS. KAWHI: Bleacher Report talks to league execs about the Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James rivalry. The duo reportedly respects each other but don’t exactly admire each other. 

COLLINS RETURNS: John Collins returned last night after a 25-game suspension related to taking a banned substance. He talked about leaning on his teammates and what being gone for so long was like. Collins went off for 27 points and 10 rebounds in his return game, but the Hawks fell to the Cavs 121-118 in what was their eighth loss in a row.

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT: Ja Morant discusses what skills he’d like to pick from other star players. For starters, he chose LeBron’s strength and Kyrie’s ball-handling. Smart kid.

FIZDALE FINDS LANDING SPOT: David Fizdale has found his next job, but it won’t be as a coach. The former Grizzlies and Knicks head man is returning to ESPN as an NBA analyst, according to SNY.

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The HoopsHype Daily: The NBA is proposing major schedule changes for 2021-22, including an in-season tournament

The NBA is proposing schedule changes, including a shorter regular season, playoff play-in games and an all new in-season tournament.

SCHEDULE CHANGE SUGGESTIONS: The NBA finally made official the schedule changes they’re proposing, and they’re pretty interesting. For starters, the regular-season schedule would get cut from 82 games to 78, which would allow for an in-season tournament. As a reward for winning the in-season tournament, aside from a trophy, players on the championship team would earn $1 million while coaches would get $1.5 million. Aside from that, the NBA is also proposing a play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth playoff seeds in each conference, as well as for the four last teams remaining in the playoffs to reseed in the playoffs based on their regular-season records.

Of all these suggested changes, the play-in tournament is the most appealing, because we saw what a play-in game looked like just a few years ago, when the Nuggets and Timberwolves faced off on the last day of the season for a shot at the playoffs. The game went to overtime and had playoff intensity throughout. Considering the end of the regular season is usually pretty boring, a play-in tournament could be a good way to spice things up.

TRADE SCUTTLE: The Hawks need to find Trae Young some help, particularly in the frontcourt. John Collins’ return from suspension will help, but Atlanta will need more if they want to make a playoff push. Well, according to reports, the Hawks are trying to do just that; Atlanta is being associated with Thunder big man Steven Adams as someone the team is targeting for a potential trade. Adams is averaging 11.1 points and 9.6 rebounds this season.

LEBRON GOES DOWN: For the first time this season, LeBron James missed a game due to injury when the Lakers faced off with the Nuggets last night. Though some thought this could be a case of subtle load management by L.A. prior to the team’s Christmas-Day game against the Clippers, Brian Windhorst said James’ pulled rib muscle is a “significant issue”, and that the four-time league MVP is also dealing with a nagging groin injury.

😨 Let’s not forget: A groin injury is what forced James to miss over a month of action last season, so the Lakers would be wise to act cautiously with LeBron’s return from this current injury.

IT SUSPENDED: The craziest story of the weekend came when Isaiah Thomas thought it prudent to walk into the stands during a Wizards game at Philadelphia to tell a fan to cool it with the vitriol. Here’s footage of the interaction between Thomas and the fan, and though the former All-Star should be commended for keeping his calm, he just can’t walk into the stands, pretty much under any circumstances. The funniest part of this whole saga was that the fan explained the reason for his anger towards Thomas, and it was because the point guard made a free throw that had he missed it, would have given Sixers fans free Wendy’s Frostys. No, seriously. 

💰 The fan was banned from the Wells Fargo Center for a year while Thomas was suspended for two games, which will cost him $32,000.

WIZARDS MAKE SIGNING: Washington is reportedly close to signing Gary Payton II over the weekend, who has been lighting it up for the Lakers’ G League team. Payton averaged 21.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists over 16 games in the NBA’s minor league.

FORMER FIRST-ROUNDER INJURED: The Sixers might actually be cursed when it comes to their top draft picks getting injured as rookies. The latest piece of evidence we have is Matisse Thybulle suffering a knee sprain, which will keep him out for at least two weeks of action.

AIR DONCIC? After what was a heated recruiting battle, Luka Doncic is reportedly ready to choose his exclusive sneaker brand, and it’ll be Jordan Brand. Doncic will sign a five-year deal with the sneaker giant, and though he won’t get a signature shoe right away, he could if and when he wins MVP or Finals MVP. Doncic joins Zion Williamson as Jordan Brand’s two latest signings… that’s a decent duo to build around.

SPECTACULAR HARDEN: James Harden is starting to make the extraordinary look ordinary. His latest 40-plus point game against Phoenix on Saturday was the 89th of his career, which put him in sole possession of fourth place among all players, trailing just Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

UNBOTHERED: Kawhi Leonard played a game in San Antonio on Saturday, and though he was showered with boos throughout the contest, the reigning Finals MVP didn’t give that reaction a second though, stating that the boos are fans really showing him love. 

BROTHERLY LOVE: ESPN goes in-depth on the Lopez twins, interviewing the duo on a variety of topics, including their love of Star Wars, as well as their love of trolling each other. Fun read.

SOME FROM THE PORTERS TOO: Michael Porter Jr. talks about living with his siblings, including NBA prospect Jontay Porter, and how they help keep him grounded through the ups-and-downs of the NBA season. 

DRAFT WATCH: Once LaMelo Ball went down with a foot injury, many thought his time in the NBL (Australian basketball league) was over, since he has probably done enough to warrant getting drafted highly in 2020. However, LaVar Ball says if his son is healthy and feeling 100 percent, he will return to action later this season.

🤔 We’ll see if the Balls actually go through with that, but as of now, our aggregate mock draft has LaMelo as the projected No. 2 pick of the 2020 draft.

DIFFICULT TO FORECAST: Speaking of Ball, between him going down, James Wiseman leaving Memphis and injuries to Cole Anthony and RJ Hampton, the 2020 NBA Draft is becoming awfully difficult to predict. As of now, four out of the projected Top 10 picks are inactive, while a fifth, Deni Avdija, isn’t getting much playing time at his top club in Europe.

HOLIDAY MOVES: There was a slew of news over the weekend regarding real estate moves made by current or former NBA players/executives, including Kawhi Leonard purchasing a new penthouse, Russell Westbrook putting a home up for sale and Chandler Parsons purchasing a pricey new place.  

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