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      Why These Players Should Start Packing at the NBA Trade Deadline

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      Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, Houston’s Victor Oladipo and Lonzo Ball of the New Orleans Pelicans are popular figures as the league’s trade deadline approaches Thursday.The N.B.A. trade deadline, typically a February enterprise, is uncharacteristically competing with March Madness for the basketball public’s attention this year.The buildup to the deadline on Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern time has been equally untraditional. Numerous front-office executives have said that trade chatter was slower to percolate this season because they had fewer opportunities to meet face-to-face on the road while scouting college games — and especially with front offices devoting so much attention to the daily challenges of managing their rosters and adhering to Covid-19 health and safety protocols as teams play through the pandemic.The league’s new playoff format, which gives 10 teams in each conference a shot at the playoffs rather than the longstanding norm of eight, has further muddled the marketplace, persuading more teams than usual to keep the status quo. In past years, with fewer teams in playoff contention, teams more naturally fell into place as buyers or sellers.Yet you can safely expect the typical flurry of trades before the buzzer sounds, despite the complications, because deadline day in the modern N.B.A. is known for sparking teams into action and delivering frantic activity. No one is predicting a blockbuster deal on the level of James Harden being traded to the Nets, but there will be action. Our breakdown of what to expect:The HeadlinerWith Harden already in Brooklyn, and Washington adamant it won’t consider offers for Bradley Beal until at least the off-season, there is a strong likelihood that no current All-Stars will be dealt this week.The jockeying between Philadelphia and Miami for Toronto guard Kyle Lowry, six times an All-Star but not this season, is nonetheless significant. Thursday also happens to be Lowry’s 35th birthday, and the signals were getting stronger, as of Monday night, that a trade to the 76ers or the Heat could materialize.The Sixers crave Lowry’s floor leadership and defensive savvy after losing out to the Nets in the Harden sweepstakes. The Heat want to team Lowry, who will be a free agent this summer, with his good friend Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in what would be a rugged three-man core of noted two-way players. The Raptors could still offer Lowry a new deal but have quietly pledged to help route him to a preferred destination if the sides agree that his long-term future lies elsewhere — provided the trade returns meaningful help for Toronto.The Raptors hope to avoid the criticism they received when they traded DeMar DeRozan, who, like Lowry, was hugely popular among Toronto fans.Darren Abate/Associated PressTyrese Maxey, Philadelphia’s promising rookie guard, is a natural target for Toronto in talks to send Lowry, a Philadelphia native, home. The Sixers, though, made Maxey untouchable in their talks with Houston for Harden in January, refusing to add him to a package that included the defensive ace Ben Simmons, a three-time All-Star. If that stance holds, it could take some creative maneuvering for Daryl Morey, Philadelphia’s president of basketball operations, to get Lowry again. In a 2009 trade as general manager of the Rockets, Morey pried the guard from Memphis in a deal he has pointed to as one of his better moves in Houston.The Heat are trying to win the Lowry race while also keeping the veteran guard Goran Dragic and the promising second-year shooter Tyler Herro out of any deal. The success of Miami’s pursuit of Lowry could thus hinge on Toronto’s interest in a young player like the sharpshooting Duncan Robinson or the rookie Precious Achiuwa packaged with Kelly Olynyk’s $12.6 million expiring contract. The Sixers have the edge when it comes to first-round draft picks to sweeten a trade offer.This much is clear: Toronto won’t just trade Lowry anywhere. He is considered Raptors royalty in his ninth season with the franchise and management treats him accordingly after Lowry’s pivotal contributions to Toronto’s 2018-19 championship run — and with fresh memories of the criticism for trading a devoted DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio for one season of Kawhi Leonard.Although it might be easier, emotionally, for everyone to part ways in the off-season, Philadelphia and Miami are both in need of a forceful response to the moves of other Eastern Conference contenders. The Nets have raised the bar at the top of the East by teaming Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, and the Milwaukee Bucks are finally surging now, too, after their November acquisition of Jrue Holiday and last week’s addition of P.J. Tucker.Marquee Names in PlayHouston badly wants to trade Victor Oladipo, a two-time All-Star who will become a free agent at season’s end. But with Oladipo receiving middling reviews for his play this season, and his durability in question, the Rockets face challenges in generating an encouraging return. Orlando’s Aaron Gordon and New Orleans’s Lonzo Ball, by contrast, are generating considerable interest.While the Magic have talked to several teams about Gordon — most notably Boston — it remains unclear how willing the Pelicans are to trade Ball, even when it is widely believed that Ball is poised to attract offers in restricted free agency this summer that exceed what New Orleans is willing to spend to keep him. I reported on Friday that the Los Angeles Clippers, despite their lack of future first-round picks to offer, have been exploring potential multiteam trade scenarios to get Ball.Lonzo Ball has attracted interest from several teams, including the Los Angeles Clippers.Craig Mitchelldyer/Associated PressThe Celtics and the Clippers rank as the two most desperate teams at the deadline, given the playoff expectations they carried into the season and both clubs’ recent struggles. No less an authority than Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, said in a February radio interview that “we don’t have a good enough team,” essentially putting public pressure on himself to do something about it.Boston has duly pursued a variety of big men whose teams are resistant to deals: Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes, Atlanta’s John Collins and Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic. The Celtics now appear focused on Gordon, or perhaps more affordable options like Sacramento’s Nemanja Bjelica or Toronto’s Norman Powell.The Buyout MarketCleveland’s Andre Drummond and San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge are two more former All-Stars who have been heavily shopped, but their hefty salaries make it difficult for their teams to trade them. Neither the Cavaliers nor the Spurs want to take long-term salary back in a deal. If no trade materializes in either case, Drummond ($28.75 million) and Aldridge ($24 million) could become unrestricted free agents by negotiating buyouts.There is a growing belief around the league that the Los Angeles Lakers have an edge over the Nets to sign Drummond if he makes it to free agency, and the Heat are widely regarded as the leaders to sign Aldridge.The Lakers only can afford to offer Drummond a minimum deal, but they have a bigger role to offer him than the Nets. After he and the Cavaliers mutually agreed a month ago that he would not play while the team sought deals, Drummond needs playing time to enhance his marketability entering free agency. That has given the Lakers confidence they can trump the offers of the Nets, who can use a $5.7 million disabled player exception from Spencer Dinwiddie’s season-ending knee injury or a $5.6 million midlevel exception left over from last off-season.Other players who could soon reach free agency through a buyout if they are not traded in the next two days include New Orleans’s JJ Redick, Cleveland’s JaVale McGee, Memphis’ Gorgui Dieng, Sacramento’s Hassan Whiteside and the Knicks’ Austin Rivers.The Nets and Lakers are interested in signing Andre Drummond if he is bought out of his contract in Cleveland.Tony Dejak/Associated PressSpencer Dinwiddie could still draw significant offers from other teams despite his knee injury, if he opts out of his contract this summer.Michael Dwyer/Associated PressVeterans Likely on the MoveSacramento’s Bjelica, Oklahoma City’s George Hill, Detroit’s Wayne Ellington, Miami’s Olynyk, Indiana’s Aaron Holiday and the Orlando duo of Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross are all prime contenders to be moved. Hill and Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio have been mentioned frequently as secondary targets for the Clippers, after Ball.Thunder General Manager Sam Presti has a well-known aversion to granting buyouts, so expect Hill to finish the season with the Thunder if no trade coalesces.The Nets are working the phones to trade Dinwiddie, who is poised to become a free agent by declining his $12.3 million player option for next season because he is expected to have numerous suitors in spite of his knee injury. Trading Dinwiddie now is the surest way for the Nets to fortify their roster yet again before the playoffs and protect themselves from losing him for nothing in the off-season.The Knicks are likewise bound to be involved in at least one deal, no matter what happens with Rivers, thanks to $15 million in cap space they carried into the season that can help facilitate trades.The Scoop @TheSteinLineHouston is shopping Victor Oladipo, though he has been only so-so this season.Pool photo by Troy TaorminaCorner ThreeLaMelo Ball was having a sensational rookie season for the Charlotte Hornets before he broke his wrist against the Clippers over the weekend.Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Questions may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Q: I was curious to know if you feel like Charlotte’s recent success (before a difficult West Coast trip) and the excitement of having LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward means we’re finally turning a corner. Could this help us in free agency? Will Michael Jordan, as the Hornets’ owner, be willing to break the bank again on a proven player? — Glenn Gibson (Mount Holly, N.C.)Stein: Glenn sent this in early last week. Then came the news on Sunday night that Ball’s sensational rookie season likely came to an abrupt end when he broke his right wrist on Saturday in a hard fall against the Los Angeles Clippers.The turn of events was so deflating that I decided to run the letter anyway to pay tribute to the unexpected playoff bid for Charlotte that Ball was leading.The Hornets have been one of this season’s fun surprises and, thanks largely to the drafting of Ball and the much-criticized signing of Hayward in free agency, quickly became known among NBA League Pass aficionados as the most watchable Charlotte team in decades. No one was ready to proclaim that Charlotte had suddenly become a free-agent destination after one strong half-season from Ball. Yet his arrival helped illustrate why teams relish the ability to put multiple playmakers on the floor — and why Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball, LaMelo’s brother, are in such high demand as Thursday’s trade deadline approaches.Along with Terry Rozier, Ball and Hayward gave the Hornets three players who could routinely make good things happen for themselves and those around them. In the East, where the Nets, Philadelphia and Milwaukee look dangerous but conference depth is an issue, that’s enough for Charlotte to overcome a suspect frontcourt and be in playoff contention.It’s no secret that the Hornets have been seeking a quality big man such as Indiana’s Myles Turner in the buildup to Thursday’s trade deadline. They were also one of the teams to register rebuffed interest in the Orlando All-Star Nikola Vucevic. Upgrading their frontcourt remains a priority for the Hornets, and Ball’s injury does not rule out a trade this week, but the wisest course is pursuing deals that align with Charlotte’s bright Ball-led future rather than chasing the short-term high of a playoff berth without him.Q: I have a semantics question about how the N.B.A. views the naming of its teams. When we talk about the New York Knicks or the Brooklyn Nets or the Indiana Pacers, the first part of the team name is the city where the team plays. Is the second part — Knicks, Nets, Pacers, etc. — considered to be a team name or a team nickname? In other words, if I said that the Knicks are finally turning things around, would you say that I used the team’s name or its nickname? Given that you have a degree of access and institutional knowledge most of us don’t have, I’d very much appreciate if you could clarify this matter. — Adam Ginsburg (Toledo, Ohio)Stein: Congratulations, Adam, on posing a question no one has ever asked me. I had to look into it on that basis alone.The league, though, has no official policy on this, based on my checking. Semantics was a good word choice by you, because the distinction you’re seeking can’t be easily made and likely depends on the person — provided there are others who want this matter clarified.Knicks, Nets and Pacers, which you termed nicknames, are also part of the team’s trademarked name. On the league’s official website, you can find a detailed history lesson, for example, about how the Knicks became known as the Knicks. But the word “nickname” doesn’t even appear there.Also: We can’t even say the first part of a team always denotes the city where a team plays as long as Golden State represents a whole region.Q: Love your newsletter, but it was “Run TMC” when the Warriors had their beautiful three-year run with Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin — not “Run DMC.” — Mitch Perry (St. Petersburg, Fla.)Stein: Thanks for pointing out one of the most dispiriting typos in newsletter history. A week later, I’m still in a funk over it.Numbers GameDevin Booker and the Phoenix Suns are excelling this season and have a better record than the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.Harry How/Getty Images15Entering Tuesday’s play, home teams had won both games in a two-game, baseball-style series just 15 times in 60 tries, according to data compiled by Ben Falk of the ever-handy Cleaning the Glass website. Home teams have lost both games 12 times and split the two games 33 times. This new scheduling wrinkle — designed to reduce travel amid the pandemic — so far appears to have contributed to a leaguewide erosion in home-court advantage..541Playing in front of reduced crowds — and, often, mostly empty buildings for much of the season — home teams have won 54.1 percent of games this season entering Tuesday, which would represent a new single-season low. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reported in February that last season’s 55.1 percent was the lowest. From 2003-4 through 2018-19, according to Falk, that figure was 59.6 percent.8Atlanta won its first eight games after Nate McMillan replaced Lloyd Pierce as head coach but still fell six victories shy of a league record. The Nets won their first 13 games in the 2003-4 season after the rookie coach Lawrence Frank replaced the ousted Byron Scott.34-12Before a surprising home loss to Minnesota on Thursday night, Phoenix was on a 34-12 tear including its 8-0 record in seeding games during last summer’s N.B.A. restart at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla. That run also includes an 18-4 stretch going into the Minnesota loss. The Suns, at a surprising No. 2 in the West, are in line for their first playoff berth in 11 seasons.15If you are prepared to write the Suns into the playoffs now, like us, that leaves Sacramento with the league’s only double-digit playoff drought, which appears headed to reach a 15th consecutive season. The Knicks are on course to end the league’s third-longest current drought after seven straight nonplayoff seasons.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. More

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      N.F.L. Quarterbacks on the Move: Wentz. Watson? Darnold?

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyN.F.L. Quarterbacks on the Move: a GuideCarson Wentz is a Colt, Jared Goff is a Lion and Deshaun Watson wants to be anything but a Texan. A look at the deals that have been done, and a few more that might be next.Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff will be swapping uniforms.Credit…Paul Sancya/Associated PressFeb. 19, 2021, 10:57 a.m. ETIt is not two weeks since the Super Bowl, and already three quarterbacks — including the first and second picks in the 2016 draft — have been traded. More movement, possibly much more, will follow. Frustrated stars, well-priced veterans, young starters — all could be on the move, as this emerging era of quarterback empowerment collides with a salary-cap crunch that compels teams to assess their resources at the sport’s most critical position.All deals cannot be made official until the new league year begins on March 17, but here’s a partial list of quarterbacks who will be — or might be — wearing new uniforms when the 2021 season opens next fall.Quarterbacks Who Have Already Been TradedJared Goff, Rams to Lions Whether Goff, 26, revitalizes his career with Dan Campbell’s merry band of kneecap biters in Detroit depends, in part, on his aptitude for doing something with the Lions that he did not do with the Rams: hold on to the ball. Considering Campbell’s apparent penchant for cannibalism — beyond vowing to bite off opponents’ kneecaps, he also stated at his introductory news conference that the Lions would “take another hunk out of you” — Goff would be wise not to approach the 17 turnovers he committed last season.Matthew Stafford, Lions to Rams After 12 seasons without a postseason victory in Detroit, where he became the Lions’ franchise leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns, Stafford will join the Rams, a team that acquired him to win far more than just one playoff game. Backed by a ferocious defense, Stafford, 33, should allow Coach Sean McVay to unbridle a downfield passing game that rarely materialized with Goff.From deep in the archives: Carson Wentz smiling in an Eagles jersey.Credit…Michael Ainsworth/Associated PressCarson Wentz, Eagles to Colts Wentz was done with the Eagles, and the Eagles were done with him, so their ability to turn one of the N.F.L.’s worst quarterbacks last season (and his onerous contract) into a decent return from Indianapolis — a third-round pick in April and a second-rounder in 2022 that could turn into a first — is a small, if pyrrhic, victory. But his departure from Philadelphia still signifies a failure for an organization that 20 months ago rewarded him with the most guaranteed money (more than $107 million) in league history at the time. The Colts are betting that Wentz will be invigorated by reuniting with two former mentors in Philadelphia, Coach Frank Reich and the assistant Press Taylor, and by joining a roster laden with foundational talent on both sides of the ball.Quarterbacks Who Might Be TradedSam Darnold, Jets Though Darnold would seem a not-incompatible fit for the run-heavy scheme of the new offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, his future with the Jets hinges on two factors: the team’s interest in Deshaun Watson and its evaluation of every draft-eligible quarterback not named Trevor Lawrence. If General Manager Joe Douglas perceives potential successors like Justin Fields of Ohio State or Zach Wilson of Brigham Young as better long-term options, or if he succeeds in prying Watson from Houston, then Darnold — drafted third over all only three years ago — could be gone.Deshaun Watson, Texans Watson has requested a move away from Houston and, armed with a no-trade clause negotiated into the four-year extension he signed last September, can influence his destination. The Texans, when not doing things that alienate their star quarterback, have been adamant in saying they want to keep Watson. Considering he counts a bargain-rate $10.54 million against the salary cap in 2021, they have no incentive to offload him. But with Watson steadfast in his desire to leave, at some point the Texans must determine if they can remain steadfast in their desire to hold on to him — and if not, just how colossal a bounty they can extract for him.Deshaun Watson wants to leave the Texans, who are not ready (yet) to grant that wish.Credit…Eric Christian Smith/Associated PressMarcus Mariota, Raiders His lone appearance last season — when he accounted for 314 yards, including 88 rushing, in the Raiders’ Week 15 loss to the Chargers — showcased the tantalizing skills that prompted Tennessee to draft Mariota No. 2 over all in 2015. With a reasonable $10.6 million cap hit next season, Mariota may be able to parlay that single game, and some untapped promise, into a better opportunity elsewhere.Quarterbacks Who Are Unlikely to Move, but Who Knows?Derek Carr, Raiders To be clear, the Raiders have shown no inclination to trade Carr, who was the only regular-season quarterback to outduel Patrick Mahomes (and nearly did it twice). But in a division ruled by Mahomes, and with the rookie Justin Herbert of the Chargers ascending, the Raiders might be swayed to move Carr provided they were assured of a definite upgrade. Beyond possibly Watson, there aren’t many of those available.Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers The 49ers nearly won a Super Bowl with Garoppolo and may be quite content to try to reach another again with him. But he has missed 23 games across the last three seasons, and according to overthecap.com, San Francisco could save $23.6 million by releasing or trading him. Could this be the off-season Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch get younger at the position?Drew Lock, Broncos The Broncos’ struggle to develop a successor to Peyton Manning led them most recently to Lock. His uneven second season suggested he continues to tilt on the team’s scale of tall, big-armed quarterbacks more toward Brock Osweiler than John Elway, who picked Lock in the second round in 2019. Lock would figure to be involved in any potential deal for Watson, who might be enticed by Denver’s receiving talent.Dak Prescott, Cowboys When healthy, Prescott ranks among the league’s best quarterbacks. So there is a better chance that Dallas lures Troy Aikman out of retirement than lets Prescott, recovering from a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle, leave in free agency. The Cowboys are still hoping to complete a long-term deal with him before March 9, the deadline for applying a franchise tag, and if the sides can’t agree, Prescott would play under the tag for a second consecutive season. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers Roethlisberger, who turns 39 next month, told The Athletic that he would be glad to restructure a contract that next season carries a $41.25 million cap charge. That could free up money to help the Steelers retain some of their 19 unrestricted free agents, but the gesture is moot if they decide the team’s long-term prospects are better without him.Tua Tagovailoa, Dolphins It’s possible that Miami, instead of using the third overall pick to surround Tagovailoa with more offensive talent, will choose to draft his replacement instead. But the only plausible scenario in which Tagovailoa is traded this off-season involves the Texans, who would almost certainly demand his inclusion as part of any package for Watson.Quarterbacks Who Could Be Availa— NopeAaron Rodgers, Packers: Russell Wilson, Seahawks: Wilson went all Festivus on the Seahawks, airing his grievances during a recent media blitz. He lamented getting hit so frequently and, spurred by watching Tom Brady and pals power Tampa Bay to a title, indicated he would like a larger voice in personnel decisions. Both are legitimate gripes. The Seahawks know how rare Wilson is. They may appease him. But they’re not trading him.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Liberty Trade Top Scorer but Add the All-Star Natasha Howard

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyLiberty Trade Top Scorer but Add the All-Star Natasha HowardKia Nurse, the team’s leading scorer last season, is headed to Phoenix. The Liberty also sent the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft to Seattle as part of the deal for Howard.Natasha Howard won championships with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020.Credit…Mary Holt/USA Today Sports, via ReutersFeb. 10, 2021, 7:51 p.m. ETThe Liberty traded away the top pick in this year’s draft and Kia Nurse, their top scorer last season, as part of a flurry of deals across the W.N.B.A. on Wednesday that also brought the All-Star Natasha Howard to New York.The Liberty acquired Howard as part of a three-team deal with the Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury. Howard, a three-time W.N.B.A. champion, provides a solid interior player for the Liberty to pair with last season’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Sabrina Ionescu. As a designated core player for Seattle, Howard had to approve the trade.The Liberty also sent the No. 1 pick in the draft this year and the Mercury’s 2022 first-round pick to the Storm. The Liberty acquired that pick from Phoenix by sending Nurse and Megan Walker to the Mercury for the sixth pick this year and their first-round choice next year.The No. 1 pick didn’t stay in Seattle long, as the Storm traded it to Dallas for Katie Lou Samuelson and the Wings’ second-round pick in 2022. The Wings become the first team in W.N.B.A. history to hold the first and second overall picks in the same draft. In addition, Dallas also holds the fifth, seventh and 13th selections in 2021.“The opportunity to acquire the top pick in a draft does not present itself very often,” said Greg Bibb, the Wings’ president and chief executive. “By securing this pick, we will ensure our ability to draft the player at the top of our draft list while having additional draft assets at our disposal to further improve our team.”It’s only the third time in the league’s history that the top pick in the draft has been traded. On draft night in 2007, Phoenix traded the No. 1 pick to the Minnesota Lynx. Three years later, the Lynx sent the top pick to Connecticut in a deal for Lindsay Whalen, who is from Minnesota.There is a lot of uncertainty about who will be available to be picked in this year’s draft. The N.C.A.A. granted every player an extra year of eligibility, meaning top seniors like Dana Evans of Louisville and Michaela Onyenwere of U.C.L.A. could return to college next year.Also on Wednesday, in a separate trade with Seattle, the Liberty got guard Sami Whitcomb for the rights to Stephanie Talbot.“We have the privilege of welcoming multiple-time W.N.B.A. champions Natasha Howard and Sami Whitcomb to Brooklyn,” Liberty General Manager Jonathan Kolb said. “The magnitude of Natasha choosing to be in New York cannot be overstated. She is an All-W.N.B.A. talent who has worked for and earned everything that she has achieved, who has contributed to championship runs on multiple teams, and who will fit seamlessly into Walt Hopkins’ system.”Howard won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2019. The 29-year-old forward won one title in Minnesota, in 2017, and two titles in Seattle, in 2018 and last season.Kia Nurse was the team’s top scorer during a difficult 2020 season, averaging 12.2 points per game.Credit…Mike Carlson/Associated Press“I am very excited to be a part of the New York Liberty organization,” Howard said. “I’m also excited to meet my new teammates and the fans. I’m so pumped about the 2021 season.”Howard averaged 9.5 points and 7.1 rebounds last season while shooting 53 percent from the field.Whitcomb was a key member of the Storm’s franchise the last few years. The 32-year-old is a solid 3-pointer shooter.Nurse, the Liberty’s 10th overall selection in the 2018 draft, averaged 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2 assists per game over 89 contests (59 starts) during her three-year tenure. She led the team in scoring last season with 12.2 points per game.The Liberty drafted Walker ninth overall last season, and she averaged 3.3 points and 1.5 rebounds while playing in 18 games.“I would like to thank Kia Nurse and Megan Walker for their contributions to our organization,” Kolb added. “The unfortunate part of transactions such as these is that you have to say goodbye to people who have contributed to the team in so many ways. ”Finally, the Lynx traded forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan to the Storm for the 2022 first-round pick they had acquired from Phoenix through the Liberty.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Knicks Nearing Trade for Derrick Rose

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonVirus Hotspots in the N.B.A.The Friendship of LeBron and Anthony DavisThe N.B.A. Wanted HerMissing Klay ThompsonKobe the #GirlDadAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyKnicks Nearing Trade for Derrick RoseRose, a former All-Star guard with the Detroit Pistons, last played for the Knicks in the 2016-17 season. He has been one of the N.B.A.’s best bench scorers this season at 14.2 points per game.Derrick Rose won the N.B.A.’s Most Valuable Player Award in the 2010-11 season.Credit…Andy Clayton-King/Associated PressFeb. 7, 2021, 5:30 p.m. ETThe Knicks are finalizing a trade to reacquire the former N.B.A. All-Star guard Derrick Rose from the Detroit Pistons, according to two people briefed on the transaction. The deal will reunite Rose with Tom Thibodeau, who coached Rose in Minnesota and Chicago and now leads the Knicks.The trade, which will send the out-of-favor guard Dennis Smith Jr. and a second-round draft pick to Detroit for Rose, was nearing completion on Sunday, according to the people, who were not authorized to discuss the trade publicly. The Athletic first reported the looming agreement.Rose, 32, is a decade removed from his Most Valuable Player Award-winning season with the Chicago Bulls in 2010-11. He has rebounded from a serious knee injury during the 2012 playoffs to establish himself as a productive scoring guard off the bench. Rose spent one tumultuous season with the Knicks, in 2016-17, and is known to be a favorite of Thibodeau, who coached him for five seasons in Chicago and parts of two seasons in Minnesota.The Knicks lack scoring punch in the backcourt, and Rose averaged 14.2 points and 4.2 assists in 15 games this season for the rebuilding Pistons before he and Detroit management mutually agreed recently that he would sit out until the team could trade him.Thibodeau, who has shown more comfort playing veteran players, will face the immediate riddle of how to blend Rose with the promising rookie Immanuel Quickley, who is already popular with Knicks fans. Quickley is off to a strong start (12.4 points in just 19 minutes per game) after he was selected out of Kentucky with the 25th overall pick in the draft in November.When asked Sunday about his reputation for preferring veterans, Thibodeau tried to brush off the question by reminding reporters that Rose was playing for him at age 22 when he achieved his greatest success.“Derrick Rose is the youngest M.V.P. in the history of the league,” Thibodeau said. “So I don’t worry about that stuff.”Rose will join the veteran forward Taj Gibson, whom the Knicks re-signed last month after waiving him in November, in playing under Thibodeau in all three of his stops as an N.B.A. head coach. The Knicks, at 11-14 after losing to Miami on Sunday, hold the East’s No. 8 seed and have exceeded expectations in Thibodeau’s first season.Smith’s brief time with the Knicks was a major disappointment. The Dallas Mavericks drafted him with the No. 9 overall pick in 2017, and he was initially billed as the centerpiece of the team’s much-debated trade in January 2019 that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas from the Knicks. Smith, now 23, has appeared in just three of the Knicks’ 25 games this season. It had become so clear he had no future in New York that he recently asked to be sent to the Knicks’ G League affiliate to be able to work on his game.Rose’s ties to the Knicks go beyond his relationship with Thibodeau. He played at the University of Memphis for John Calipari, who now coaches at Kentucky and is close with the Knicks’ president, Leon Rose, and his top aide, William Wesley. Four former Kentucky players are on the Knicks’ roster.Rose averaged 18 points per game in his lone Knicks season. In 2016, during the preseason, he traveled to Los Angeles several times to testify in a civil case in which he was accused of sexual assault. He was found not liable. He also left the team abruptly on a game day in January of that season and had season-ending knee surgery in April 2017.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Rams Acquire Stafford for Goff as N.F.L. Quarterback Market Warms

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyRams Acquire Stafford for Goff as N.F.L. Quarterback Market WarmsThe Los Angeles Rams added a productive passer, Matthew Stafford, to a sagging offense, while the rebuilding Lions took on Jared Goff, a reclamation project with an onerous contract.Jared Goff, who led the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl in the 2018 N.F.L. season, was traded for Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is ranked fifth among active quarterbacks in passing yards (45,109).Credit…Paul Sancya/Associated PressJan. 31, 2021Updated 8:04 p.m. ETIn many other N.F.L. off-seasons, a swap of quarterbacks once drafted No. 1 over all, with a bundle of early-round future picks also involved, would signify the boldest, most intriguing move of the winter. But the trade consummated on Saturday by the Detroit Lions, who agreed to take on Jared Goff’s onerous contract from the Los Angeles Rams to sweeten their return for Matthew Stafford, might just be a prelude to a series of wild quarterback deals and signings over the next two months that upend the N.F.L. landscape.About half of the league’s 32 teams ended the regular season with uncertainty at the quarterback position. That group includes the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints — Philip Rivers retired at the end of the regular season and Drew Brees is likely to follow — but it is headlined by the Houston Texans, who are locked in a stalemate with their marvelous but disgruntled star, Deshaun Watson, who has reportedly requested a trade.The Rams had been hinting for weeks at their disenchantment with Goff, in whom they invested $110 million guaranteed via a contract extension signed 16 months ago. Rather than risk another team swooping in to acquire Stafford, long among the league’s more prolific passers, they enticed Detroit by sending a third-round pick in this year’s N.F.L. draft and first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 for the ability to offload Goff’s contract.A person in football with direct knowledge of the deal confirmed the trade, which cannot be made official until the new league year begins on March 17. The Rams, though, did wink at it Saturday night in a post to Twitter that asked whether Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw — who attended Highland Park High School in Texas with Stafford — had “heard from an old friend today?”For Los Angeles, acquiring Stafford represents just another audacious move for a franchise that specializes in them. The Rams have not drafted in the first round since 2016, when they traded up to take Goff. Unless they acquire a pick, they won’t select in that round again until 2024. But it is the team’s eagerness to part with draft compensation for production at critical positions that has consistently positioned them as a contender in the N.F.C., even boosting them to the Super Bowl behind Goff in the 2018 season.Over the last two years, though, Goff has regressed, committing 38 turnovers — 29 interceptions, tied for third most in the N.F.L. in that span — and was effectively benched in favor of the undrafted backup John Wolford at the end of the regular season even though he told Coach Sean McVay he had recovered enough from thumb surgery to start. In unburdening themselves of Goff, the Rams gain the potent downfield passing threat they have been lacking while also bolstering their capacity to compete in an N.F.C. West where Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson set a blistering pace.Pending more moves, this iteration of the Rams — the team had the league’s stingiest defense in the 2020 season — just might have more talent than any team Stafford has played on across his 12 N.F.L. seasons, all of which were with Detroit. That stretch was defined by the Lions’ inability to complement him on the other side of the ball. Stafford, who turns 33 on Sunday, is by far the Lions’ franchise leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns, and ranks fifth among active quarterbacks in career yards with 45,109. But he has played in only three playoff games, winning none, and was selected to just one Pro Bowl, in 2014.He asked the Lions to trade him this off-season, and his departure marks another milepost in their grand organizational overhaul. After firing Coach Matt Patricia and General Manager Bob Quinn in November 2020, Detroit hired a new coach, Dan Campbell, and a new general manager, Brad Holmes, who as the director of college scouting had endorsed the Rams’ selection of Goff No. 1 over all in 2016.Goff, who is still owed roughly $43 million guaranteed, affords Detroit a credible quarterback to start in 2021 but hardly prevents the team from pursuing another quarterback in the draft. Selecting in the top eight for the third consecutive year, the Lions are stockpiling picks to be used not only to augment a barren roster but that could go toward a package for Stafford’s long-term successor.Considering the package that the Lions received for Stafford, it is presumed that the Texans, should they choose to honor Watson’s request, will try to extract an even greater total of first-round picks for a younger and better quarterback. By that logic, though, Houston would also have to take on a contract as onerous as Goff’s to receive appealing compensation.That trade-off was worthwhile for the Lions, who have sorted out their quarterback situation, and the Rams, who seem delighted to have landed Stafford. Much of the league will be busy figuring out whether to stay put or to try to surpass them.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      The Harden Trade Should Work Out — but Maybe Not for the Nets

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonJames Harden Traded to the NetsThe N.B.A.’s Virus CrisisThis Is for Stephen Curry’s CriticsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storymarc stein on basketballThe Harden Trade Should Work Out — but Maybe Not for the NetsGoing big brought championships home right away for the Lakers (Anthony Davis trade) and the Raptors (Kawhi Leonard). The Nets’ bet on James Harden might not pay off so soon.The four-team trade sending James Harden to the Nets from the Rockets is bound to be a big win for someone. The question is for which team.Credit…Adam Hunger/Associated PressJan. 20, 2021, 12:55 p.m. ETIn the midst of an opening month marked by game postponements, depleted rosters and ragged basketball, four teams intervened last week to deliver a blockbuster James Harden trade.It was a rousing (and welcome) diversion as the N.B.A. strained to play through a pandemic, but a few days of reflection hasn’t changed my initial reaction. Even with so many options, clear winners in this deal do not jump off the scorecard.The daunting truth for the Nets and the Houston Rockets, who drove this whopper transaction, is that the Cleveland Cavaliers — for now — look best positioned of any team in the quartet to come away satisfied after the Cavaliers paid a modest price to acquire the Nets’ highly rated center Jarrett Allen.The Indiana Pacers should join them in celebrating the deal, provided that Caris LeVert can return safely from the scary disclosure that he is out indefinitely after a small mass was discovered on his left kidney. The Pacers entered the trade as the fourth team by shipping a potentially expensive free-agent-to-be, Victor Oladipo, to Houston so they could acquire the promising former Nets forward LeVert and his team-friendly contract. Kevin Pritchard, Indiana’s president of basketball operations, said the Pacers are “super confident” about LeVert’s recovery.Indiana and Cleveland, despite their lesser roles as trade facilitators, got most of the early kudos for the deal. The Nets and Rockets might not care about that, but reservations for the headliners persist because:The Nets had to surrender control of their first-round pick in their next seven drafts (yes, seven) to acquire Harden and partner him with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.The Rockets collected all that draft capital in return but did not come away with the young franchise player that they had indicated for weeks they were holding out for in any Harden swap.The Nets only have their new star trio under contract for the rest of this season and next season, while facing many questions about their sudden defensive shortcomings and how they plan to keep three volume scorers content now that Irving has rejoined the team after an extended absence. Irving participated in a full practice Tuesday after missing seven games for what began as “just a pause” that he said he needed because of “family and personal stuff.” Yet as good as Durant and Harden looked together Monday night in crunchtime of a home win over Milwaukee, mixing in a third star who wants and needs the ball changes the dynamic dramatically.The Rockets have unexpectedly embraced a rebuilding strategy more associated with a front-office alumnus not named Daryl Morey. Stockpiling future first-round draft picks, remember, is Sam Hinkie’s trademark. Of course, for the strategy to be successful, Houston will have to turn those picks into at least one cornerstone player more talented than Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons. Houston chose the Nets’ trade offer and a trial run with Oladipo, who is still recovering from his own injury woes, over the 76ers’ Simmons-centric pitches. It’s a call that has some around the league wondering if the Tilman Fertitta-owned Rockets, at closing time, dealt with the Nets because they could not bring themselves to send Harden to Morey’s new team.It should be noted that there is some scattered praise out there for the Nets and the Rockets that has been drowned out by the conspiracy theories and news media skepticism. One Western Conference executive, for example, chided me for focusing too much on Harden’s various acts of sabotage that fast-tracked his Houston exit and too readily dismissing what his distinct offensive talent can do for the Nets.Harden got what he wanted in the end after some of the worst trade-forcing behavior ever seen. He showed up late to training camp, flouted the league’s health and safety protocols on camera, let his level of play and conditioning decline and, finally, cemented his newfound villainy by publicly criticizing the collective quality of his now-former Rockets teammates. The executive nonetheless described Harden, if only for the moment while he’s taking such heat, as the league’s most underrated player.Another executive in the West asked me why I was so quick to scoff at Houston’s return for Harden when the Nets are being openly questioned for possibly trading away too much to get him. Along with the 2022 first-round pick it acquired from Cleveland (via Milwaukee), which the Cavaliers shrewdly tossed into the trade to nab Allen, Houston will receive the Nets’ unprotected first-round picks in 2022, 2024 and 2026, as well as the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets in the 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027 drafts.Perhaps one or both of those executives will be proven right. If the Nets win a championship this season or next, or if Houston can construct an enviable new core with its replenished trove of assets, no shortage of scribes like me will face told-you-so recriminations.You just wouldn’t dare at the outset to, especially in the Nets’ case, throw a lot of support behind the risk-taking.The Los Angeles Clippers surrendered a fistful of draft assets to Oklahoma City in July 2019 because they knew trading for Paul George would also clinch the free-agent signature of Kawhi Leonard. The Los Angeles Lakers made a similar move earlier that same month to acquire Anthony Davis from New Orleans and flank LeBron James with the most talented teammate of his career. Those were N.B.A. no-brainers.Milwaukee’s gambit in November to part with three future first-round picks and the rights to swap first-rounders in two other drafts to pry Jrue Holiday away from the Pelicans is in a tier of its own. The Bucks endured a nervy wait that lasted almost a month after the Holiday trade until Giannis Antetokounmpo agreed to a five-year, $228 million contract extension. Persuading Antetokounmpo to stay, on some levels, equated to a championship in itself for the small-market Bucks, but they’ll surely need a major contribution from Holiday to shed their label of playoff underachievers and keep Antetokounmpo content.Then the Nets’ trade realistically falls into a tier below that, since Milwaukee’s move was fueled by the understandable desperation to please and then re-sign Antetokounmpo.As swiftly as Durant’s 30.6 points-per-game brilliance has made so many forget that he is only in the nascent stages of a comeback from the most dreaded injury in the sport — no one in the N.B.A., frankly, has ever looked better than Durant after an Achilles’ tendon tear — so many unknowns nag at the Nets.Who in this trio will embrace third-wheel status like Chris Bosh so crucially did in Miami beside James and Dwyane Wade, or like Ray Allen did in Boston alongside Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce? Who among Durant, Harden and Irving has the personality to lead the way to a pecking order? How can the Nets play passable playoff defense against offensive monsters like Antetokounmpo and Davis when Durant, Harden and Irving share the floor? How much can the Nets even count on Irving after his messy exits in Cleveland and Boston and this season’s bumpy start?Don’t forget that the Nets are asking a rookie coach, Steve Nash, to steer this group to the answers to those questions — without a training camp on top of Nash’s lack of experience. Don’t forget, furthermore, that it took the James/Wade/Bosh Heat more than a season to figure a lot of this out.Winning a championship is not the Nets’ only motivation here. If the Harden trade persuades Durant to sign a second contract with them, and if Harden sticks around, those would be significant triumphs.The Nets, though, will not be graded on the ancillary benefits, or merely their success in ensuring that Harden didn’t land with the division-rival Sixers. They went all in believing that a change of scenery for the unhappy Harden will lead to a title in Year 1 — like it did for Leonard in Toronto and for Davis with the Lakers.As much as we relished an actual basketball debate, temporarily hauling us away from the N.B.A.’s mounting coronavirus concerns, there are simply too many holes in that script to buy into it playing out three seasons in a row.Corner ThreeKyrie Irving is expected to be back with the Nets on Wednesday. He hasn’t played since Jan. 5.Credit…Adam Hunger/Associated PressYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. (Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.)Q: Just wanted to mention that, while two-game series aren’t primary on the baseball schedule, they do happen all the time, even in nonpandemic years. The Yankees, for example, played five scheduled two-game series in the first half of the 2019 season. So “baseball series” does work as a name for the two-game sets in the N.B.A. this season. Stick with it. — Joe Sheehan (joesheehan.com)Stein: Appreciate the perspective, Joe. I answered a question in Corner Three last week that suggested two-game sets never happen in baseball without properly challenging it.That probably stems, at least in my fading memory, from them seeming much rarer in the 1970s and 1980s when I followed baseball more closely. I should have vetted the question with my ace New York Times baseball colleagues Tyler Kepner and James Wagner.As for sticking with the term “baseball series” for the N.B.A.’s two-game sets featuring the same two teams playing consecutive games at the same arena, you might get your wish. Better alternatives have yet to materialize.In last week’s newsletter, I asked for reader suggestions, which has proved to be a useful tactic in the past when I’ve gotten stuck on something. I regret to report that I have yet to receive what I would classify as an inspiring nomination.Q: Instead of “baseball-style series,” how about “doubles” as the new term? I know it belongs to tennis, but it works: “The Lakers are playing a double against the Rockets in Houston. The second game is tonight.” — George FullerStein: You made a passable case, George, compared to the other submissions received. But I can’t co-sign this.Not only am I a huge tennis fan, as I’ve mentioned often before, but I am one of the world’s biggest doubles fans. I have campaigned for doubles to get more coverage from the tennis press since I was a teenager.So I can’t bring myself to try to transform one of the pillar concepts of one of my three favorite sports into niche basketball lingo.Q: Why did Kyrie Irving lose 1/81.6 of his salary for two games if there are 72 games this season? — @Alvaro32LA from TwitterStein: The league office, after recent negotiations with the players’ union, adjusted the per-game penalty for players who miss a game because of a violation of the N.B.A.’s health and safety protocols. I’m told that the penalty went from 1/72 of the player’s salary to 1/81.6 of the salary for each game missed; Irving missed two games during the five-day quarantine he received from the N.B.A. after he was caught on video maskless at a family birthday party.The league and union calculated the 81.6 figure by adding four postseason games and a league average of 5.6 playoff games to the 72-game total. For the first three games that Irving missed, which the Nets attributed to “personal reasons,” Nets officials had the option to fine Irving at the higher rate of 1/72 of his $33,329,100 million salary for each game missed, which would have totaled more than $460,000 per game.Numbers GameLeBron James is on pace to average the fewest minutes per game of his career this season, at age 36. The Lakers have the N.B.A.’s best record.Credit…Wade Payne/Associated Press42James Harden’s first game in Houston as a member of the Nets is only 42 days away on March 3. The game is expected to have 4,500 fans in attendance, too, with the Rockets on the short list of five N.B.A. teams allowing reduced crowds for home games.7Seven players have posted a triple-double in their first game with a new team, according to Stathead. Two of the seven — Harden and Washington’s Russell Westbrook — did so this season. Harden had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists (and 9 turnovers) in his Nets debut on Saturday in a victory over Orlando; Westbrook had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists in his Wizards debut on Dec. 23 in a loss to Philadelphia.13Harden is going ahead with plans to operate a steakhouse in midtown Houston. Thirteen, named for Harden’s jersey number, is scheduled to open by month’s end, according to Sherrie Handrinos, a spokeswoman for the restaurant. Kevin Durant owned a 25 percent stake in a restaurant in Oklahoma City, Kd’s Southern Cuisine, which filed an application to change its name to the Legacy Grill just days after Durant’s decision in July 2016 to leave the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors in free agency.56The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James awoke Tuesday ranked 56th in the league at 32.2 minutes per game. It’s on pace to be the lowest average of his 18-season career by design, with James now 36 years old and coming off the shortest off-season in N.B.A. history. Only 72 days elapsed between the Lakers’ Game 6 finals victory over Miami to clinch the 2019-20 championship and their opening night loss to the Clippers on Dec. 22.37Only four players are averaging at least 37 minutes per game, and the Tom Thibodeau-coached Knicks have two of them. Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis leads the league at 37.5 minutes per game, followed by the Knicks’ duo RJ Barrett and Julius Randle and the Nets’ Harden, all of whom are tied at 37.1 minutes per game.Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      After Frosty Houston Split, Harden Says He’s an ‘Elite Teammate’

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonJames Harden Traded to the NetsThe N.B.A.’s Virus CrisisThis Is for Stephen Curry’s CriticsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAfter Frosty Houston Split, Harden Says He’s an ‘Elite Teammate’James Harden, who was traded to the Nets this week, had been called “disrespectful” by his former teammates in Houston, who he said were “not good enough” to win a championship.In his introductory press conference with the Nets on Friday, James Harden said he was an “elite” player, teammate and leader.Credit…Toshifumi Kitamura/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesJan. 15, 2021, 5:04 p.m. ETDays after telling reporters he did not think the Houston Rockets were talented enough to be competitive, James Harden said on Friday that he is an “elite player, an elite teammate” and an “elite leader,” in his first comments as a member of the Nets.He also responded to critical barbs by his former Rockets teammates, including the former All-Stars John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins, in particular, referred to Harden’s behavior leading up to this week’s trade to the Nets as “disrespectful.”“I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone,” said Harden, who had been the cornerstone of the Rockets since 2012-13. “Those guys had just got there, Houston. I’ve been there for a very long time. I’ve been through all the ups and downs with that organization and I wasn’t disrespectful toward anyone. I just made a comment that the team, as a whole, wasn’t good enough to compete for a title, and at the stage of my career where I am now, that’s what I would love.”In postgame comments Tuesday night, following a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Harden said that he did not think the Rockets had the talent or chemistry to be competitive and added, “It’s something that I don’t think can be fixed.” This came months after Harden, who showed up late to training camp, privately requested a trade from the Rockets. The Nets topped the list of his preferred teams.When asked Friday if he regretted how things ended in Houston, where he played more than eight seasons and won a Most Valuable Player Award, Harden said: “Yeah, I regret because I’m not the type of guy who — I don’t need the attention, especially the negative energy, the negative attention. Like, I’ve never been that guy. There were some things, I feel like, out of my character, but the ultimate goal was to get somewhere where I can compete.”Harden developed into one of the N.B.A.’s marquee players in Houston and in recent years has had some of the league’s best offensive seasons ever. However, he has also developed a reputation for clashing with teammates and for having less-than-desirable conditioning. (On Friday, when asked to describe his conditioning, Harden smiled and said “Great!”)In Wednesday’s blockbuster trade, the Nets gave up a bevy of draft picks and talented young players such as Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert. Coach Steve Nash said on Friday that Harden should be available to play Saturday against the Orlando Magic.Harden publicly detailed for the first time why he wanted to leave Houston. He cited the off-season departures of Daryl Morey, who resigned as Houston’s general manager and became president of the Philadelphia 76ers, and Mike D’Antoni, who left the Rockets and is now an assistant coach for the Nets. Harden said he began rethinking his future in Houston immediately after losing to the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs last season.“You look from top to bottom: the general manager leaving to Mike D’Antoni leaving to re-evaluating our personnel and seeing if we had enough to compete with the best teams in the league,” he said. “And as time went on and free agency and things like that started to go on, it was like, well, I felt like we didn’t have a chance.”He added, “As much as I love the city of Houston and I loved being there, I think I’m at the point in my career where it’s not about money. It’s not about anything else but having a chance at reaching the ultimate goal, which is winning at the highest level.”Harden said he had not spoken with his new teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant about how they would coexist on the floor.“For us, it might take a little time,” Harden said. “It might not. I think all of us are very smart, are very unselfish, and we know what’s at stake.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      8 Fearless N.B.A. Season Predictions

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The NBA SeasonNets and Clippers Win BigMVP: LeBron or Luka?The Reloaded LakersWill the Nets Reign?AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storymarc stein on basketball8 Fearless N.B.A. Season PredictionsHouston’s James Harden is widely expected to be traded soon. But Kevin Love? Zach LaVine? LaMarcus Aldridge? They could be on the move, too.The outlook for James Harden is now about when, not if, he will be traded from the Houston Rockets.Credit…Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle, via Associated PressDec. 23, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ETThe N.B.A.’s 75th season began Tuesday night with wins by the Nets and the Clippers. A new calendar year arrives in just nine days.The time, then, has never been more right to consult our crystal roundball for the usual batch of eight (almost) fearless predictions for what awaits in #thisleague in coming months:James Harden will be traded no later than Jan. 25 — two full months before this season’s trade deadline.The initial rumblings, at the start of Harden’s standoff with the Houston Rockets, suggested that a trade was unlikely to materialize until closer to the March 25 deadline. The Rockets were determined to first see if they could repair their relationship with Harden, then to leverage the two guaranteed seasons left on his contract on the trade market.More current rumblings indicate that tension within the Rockets is mounting each day Harden goes untraded. The Athletic illuminated some of that tension with a report Tuesday that Harden recently threw a ball in practice at Jae’Sean Tate, his new rookie teammate. Both sides now want to move on as quickly as possible. It’s time.I still regard Philadelphia as the most likely landing spot for Harden, largely because Ben Simmons most closely fits the description of the sort of building-block player Houston is holding out for in return. I’m also told that the familiarity between Daryl Morey and his Rockets successor, Rafael Stone, will outweigh any lingering ill feelings from Morey’s move to Philadelphia as president of basketball operations less than two weeks after he walked away from his Houston contract. I know Morey has said that Simmons is going nowhere. I also know Morey made similar statements about Chris Paul before he traded Paul to Oklahoma City for Russell Westbrook.The Heat let it be known this week that they are not actively pursuing Harden, which is a blow for the Rockets because Miami is one of those fearless teams with the oft-proven gumption to embrace an enigma like Harden in spite of the various red flags. The Sixers and the Nets, though, may not be the only other options: In recent days, it has become known that Toronto, Boston and Denver have also had exploratory talks with Houston.The Rockets will keep probing the market, as eager to move on now as the superstar they catered to for the past eight seasons.At least three of the following five players will be traded this season in addition to Harden: LaMarcus Aldridge, Aaron Gordon, Buddy Hield, Zach LaVine and Kevin Love. Maybe even all five.Love’s case is the most intriguing. He has $91.5 million left on his Cleveland contract with two more seasons after this one. Yet the flurry of contract extensions we’ve seen during the N.B.A.’s truncated off-season may encourage a team or two out there to sacrifice some future salary-cap flexibility to absorb Love’s deal, knowing that free-agent options will be more limited than anticipated.Both Aldridge and Gordon are interesting candidates with their shorter remaining contracts to slot in Boston’s $28.5 million trade exception, which the Celtics (depending on their willingness to run up their luxury-tax bill) can use to add absorb a huge salary in a trade.Kevin Durant will be first player in N.B.A. history to go from an Achilles’ tendon tear to Most Valuable Player Award candidacy.Kevin Durant’s game looked as fluid as ever during the preseason.Credit…Kathy Willens/Associated PressIn Tuesday’s New York Times, as part of a staff compendium of award predictions for the coming season, I went with Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks as my M.V.P. selection. As strong as Doncic’s case will surely be, I’ve been asking myself if I should have gone with Durant.It is super early in his comeback, true, and the Nets will be wary of overtaxing their star forward during the regular season. But Durant is shooting, moving and, yes, dunking as fluidly as we’ve ever seen a player post-Achilles’ tendon surgery.Even at 32, Durant looks highly capable of changing the devastating history of the most dreaded injury in the sport. Then again, Durant is one of the sport’s true offensive unicorns, so perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.The Eastern Conference will earn your respect.I can’t claim to have invented the phrase, but I think I’ve been using “Leastern Conference” jabs in stories for almost 20 years. Even in recent seasons that produced a champion from the East, depth on that side of the N.B.A. has often been lacking.This season will be different. Although the West still has more teams that can credibly compete for a playoff spot, it appears that more challengers to the Lakers’ throne (starting with Milwaukee, Miami and the Nets) can be found in the East.Sorting out the East’s top seven, if the Indiana Pacers are indeed more dynamic offensively under new coach Nate Bjorkgren, should be complicated and fun.Finishing sixth in each conference will mean more than it ever has before.One of the best things about the N.B.A.’s play-in playoff round, beyond giving four more teams than usual a pathway to the postseason, is how much more value finishing sixth in the East or West holds.The No. 6 seed clinches a first-round playoff berth. The No. 7 seed slips into a four-team scramble that, in the worst-case scenario, could result in an early off-season. In the N.B.A.’s ongoing quest to make the regular season more meaningful (and watchable), this should help.The No. 9 or No. 10 seed in either conference would have to win two consecutive games to bump off No. 7 or No. 8 for a playoff spot.Game 1: The format calls for the seventh-place team in each conference seed to play No. 8, with the winner claiming the No. 7 seed.Game 2: The No. 9 seed goes up against No. 10. The loser is eliminated.Game 3: The loser of Game 1 faces the winner of Game 2. The Game 3 winner claims the final playoff berth, with the loser heading to the lottery.Got it?There will be All-Star balloting, like usual, even if there is no All-Star Game.All-Star festivities will be different this season, but we’ll still fight about selections and snubs as usual.Credit…Nathaniel S. Butler/NBA PhotosThe N.B.A. has already announced that its 2021 All-Star Weekend, which was scheduled to be held in Indianapolis, has been postponed to 2024 to give the Hoosier State another shot at hosting. Indianapolis last played host to an N.B.A. All-Star Game in 1985.I think the league, deep down, would like to arrange a simpler All-Star Game, just this season, if it made sense to do so. That, however, is a lot to ask in these coronavirus times — especially when a true midseason break of some sort is sure to be welcomed by players after the shortest off-season in history for most teams.Can you live with traditional All-Star balloting, coaches selecting the reserves and the usual Twitter fisticuffs over who got snubbed? I’m pretty sure we’re going to get all that.The Miami Heat will reach the N.B.A. finals again.This is going to be harder than it sounds if you remember the above warnings about the East’s top seven.It will be doubly difficult if you endorse the belief in some league circles that the Heat would not have advanced to the finals at Walt Disney World if not for some bubble anomalies, like the lack of travel and the absence of hostile environments on the road. Miami’s ever-demanding culture for players that puts so much emphasis on fitness and focus, as the theory goes, had its roster primed to cope better than anyone with the long bouts of isolation in the bubble and other mental-health challenges.I don’t buy it. I think the Heat have a worthy, versatile, defensive-minded team that orbits around Jimmy Butler and will be stronger this season as Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson develop. They beat the Lakers twice in the finals, remember, despite the injuries sustained by Adebayo and Goran Dragic.Miami was not a mirage.There will be a loud campaign for the N.B.A. to start cooking up a new all-time team, featuring 75 players as the league’s 75th birthday nears in June, to replace or update the league’s list of 50 greatest players named in October 1996, the league’s 50th season.And if I’m wrong and no loud campaign materializes, I will start it myself.The Scoop @TheSteinLineGrizzlies fans will have to watch Ja Morant from home for now.Credit…Brandon Dill/Associated PressCorner ThreeTrevor Ariza has probably been on your favorite team.Credit…John Raoux/Associated PressYou ask; I answer. Every week in this space, I’ll field three questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as the city you’re writing in from, and make sure “Corner Three” is in the subject line.(Questions may be lightly edited or condensed for clarity.)Q: The West is obviously going to have more than eight teams vying for playoff spots. Which teams do you think we can rule out now? — Natalie Anfuso (Wayne, Pa.)Stein: I totally understand why you’re asking, because it’s a difficult question to answer. If you’re looking to rule out teams completely, I would feel comfortable naming only Oklahoma City — and that’s just because the Thunder have aggressively embraced a rebuilding posture. It wouldn’t surprise me, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander running the offense and Al Horford and Luguentz Dort anchoring the defense, if even the Thunder proved to be a tougher out than expected.Every team in the West that finished eighth or lower last season has grander visions of this season’s ceiling. No. 8 Portland believes it will contend for a top-four seed after the acquisition of Robert Covington and some additional roster tweaking. Memphis placed ninth and is counting on a similar finish, at worst, purely through Ja Morant’s presumed improvement in Year 2. And No. 10 Phoenix is widely regarded as playoff material now after going 8-0 at the Walt Disney World bubble and then trading for Chris Paul.While outsiders await a potential trade that ships out a veteran like LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan or Patty Mills, No. 11 San Antonio is optimistic that the experience its younger players gained in the bubble will make the Spurs a playoff sleeper. No. 13 New Orleans is one of the more difficult teams to assess and figures to have a puncher’s chance to reach the postseason purely based on the track record of its new coach, Stan Van Gundy, and Zion Williamson’s promising preseason. Golden State, of course, is expected to bounce back from the league’s worst record (15-50) to contend for a playoff berth — even with Klay Thompson out for the season after he tore his right Achilles’ tendon in November.I have more confidence in Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell clicking and No. 14 Minnesota joining that mix ahead of No. 12 Sacramento, but the Timberwolves and the Kings have to be considered playoff long shots in a conference this deep. The Kings, remember, have missed the postseason for a league-high 14 consecutive seasons and, even with a revamped front office, left numerous rival teams stunned by their decision not to match Atlanta’s four-year, $72 million offer sheet to Bogdan Bogdanovic.Q: Maybe it wasn’t part of the wildest off-season ever, but Luke Ridnour had a wild week in 2015 — he was traded five times, if I remember correctly. Did he ever play for any of them? — Barron Hall (Chicago)Stein: Good follow-up question to our recent debate in this space about the proper amount of awe in response to the leaguewide frenzy of transactions in the days before and after the Nov. 18 draft. Ridnour was actually traded four times in a week in June 2015 — one trade more than Trevor Ariza was subjected to last month — but he never played for any of the teams involved.In fact, Ridnour never played in the league again after his stint with Orlando in 2014-15. He had a nonguaranteed contract worth $2.75 million for the 2015-16 season, which is why Ridnour kept being moved, but he decided to stop playing after Toronto acquired him from Oklahoma City in trade No. 4. The first three trades sent him from Orlando to Memphis, Memphis to Charlotte and Charlotte to Oklahoma City.Ariza is on the Thunder’s opening-night roster and, according to my old friends at HoopsHype, has been traded 10 times in his career — more than any other player in league history. Ariza is likely to be mentioned frequently as the potential recipient of an in-season contract buyout that makes him a free-agent target for contending teams like the Lakers, but who would be surprised if Oklahoma City finds a way to trade him again?Q: I honestly don’t know what normal is anymore, but the last five minutes of the Golden State-Sacramento game last Tuesday night were pure joy. All the rookies and reserves were playing their hearts out, Kyle Guy’s buzzer-beater gave the Kings a win, and Steve Kerr, Alvin Gentry and Luke Walton were all laughing through their masks. As a basketball-starved, 70-year-old woman, I enjoyed all of it. Bring it on! — Gigi CoeStein: You get the last word, Gigi. Let’s hope, as the regular season opens Tuesday night, that we have lots of scenes like the one you describe to dissect and savor.Numbers GameCharlotte’s LaMelo Ball has wowed with his passing. Not so much his shooting, yet.Credit…Matt Stamey/Associated Press6Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo last week became the sixth player to sign a so-called supermax contract extension, joining Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Houston’s James Harden, Washington’s Russell Westbrook and Houston’s John Wall. Two marquee stars who were eligible to sign supermax deals with their former teams but declined: Anthony Davis (New Orleans) and Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio). Utah’s Rudy Gobert was also eligible for the supermax but signed a five-year deal on Sunday with the Jazz at roughly $23 million below the highest amount he could have received.3The supermax contract was introduced to help incumbent teams retain superstar players, after Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City for Golden State in July 2016, but Harden recently became the third of those six supermax recipients to request a trade. Westbrook has been traded twice since signing his supermax with Oklahoma City in September 2017. Wall signed his with Washington in July 2017 and was traded for Westbrook on Dec. 2 after both players asked for a trade.26.2Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball threw some of the best passes I’ve ever seen during the preseason — including a one-handed bounce pass against Orlando on Saturday with skip and bend that should be enjoyed over and over — but Ball, a rookie guard, is struggling as badly as feared with his shooting. Drafted No. 3 over all by the Hornets in November, Ball shot 26.2 percent from the field and 27.3 percent on 3-pointers in Charlotte’s four exhibition games.44.3With a career conversion rate of 44.3 percent, Philadelphia’s Seth Curry ranks second in league history in 3-point percentage behind Golden State Coach Steve Kerr, who was a career 45.4 percent shooter from long range. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry is sixth at 43.5 percent, behind Hubert Davis (44.1 percent), Drazen Petrovic (43.7 percent) and Duncan Robinson (43.7 percent).5,739We can’t forget that Stephen Curry, coming into this season, had attempted 5,739 3-pointers in his 11 N.B.A. seasons. That’s more than Kerr (1,599), his brother, Seth (1,007), and Miami’s Robinson (641) combined (3,247).Hit me up anytime on Twitter (@TheSteinLine) or Facebook (@MarcSteinNBA) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send any other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.comAdvertisementContinue reading the main story More