At this point, every single point LeBron James scores represents a new NBA record. He entered Tuesday night’s Lakers vs. Pelicans game with 41,837 career points, but remember, that doesn’t count postseason scoring. Add in his 8,162 playoff points, and that was a total of 49,999 total career points.
That meant he needed one bucket on Tuesday to go over an astounding 50,000 career points, and he got it with 8:33 to go in the first quarter on a wing 3-pointer off a cross-court pass from his new running buddy Luka Dončić.
This type of number can only be achieved when every element of basketball greatness lines up. Talent, of course, but also intelligence, feel for the game, the ability to score from any spot on the floor — be it driving, posting or shooting — against double teams, triple teams, in the halfcourt and on the break, midrange, off the catch, off the dribble, and on and on.
But most of all, this is a record of longevity. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you’re not durable enough to hold up for as long as LeBron has, you’re not sniffing a number like this.
In his 22nd season at 40 years old, James continues to play, arguably, at a top-five MVP level with averages of 24.8 points, 8.6 assists and 8.0 rebounds entering Tuesday. He’s going to be All-NBA this season. He was just voted Western Conference Player of the Month — the oldest player in history to do so. And after he put up 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the 136-115 win over New Orleans, James has the Lakers (39-21) on a seven-game win streak and in the No. 2 spot in the West.
It’s fitting that James hit this 50,000 mark on a 3-pointer as it’s been the development of that shot that has played such a major role in his ability to sustain such scoring prowess. He’s still a freight train getting to the rim, especially in transition and when he lands on certain matchups, but over the years he’s become a lot more dependent on 3-pointers as a less taxing source of production. This season, James is making 39% of his 3s on almost six attempts per game.
If you’re wondering who’s second on the total career points list, counting regular season and playoffs, it’s the same as the official leaderboard: LeBron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (44,149), Karl Malone (41,689), Kobe Bryant (39,283) and Michael Jordan (38,279).
Going back to his college days at Davidson (when he scored 12 of his team’s final 14 points and made the go-ahead jumper with 39 seconds to play in a win against West Virginia back in 2008), Stephen Curry has played 14 career games at Madison Square Garden. He’s won 13 of them, including 10 straight, with the latest being the Warriors’ 114-102 win over the Knicks on Tuesday.
Curry had 28 with five 3-pointers in his latest Garden takeover as the red-hot Warriors continue to climb the standings. Combined with losses for the Clippers and Rockets, Golden State, which has won seven of its last eight games, currently owns the West’s No. 6 seed and sits just three back of No. 5 with 20 games to play.
Over 13 career NBA games at the Garden, Curry has averaged over 26 points with five 3-pointers per game on 49% 3-point shooting. Where did he break the all-time 3-point record? At MSG.
Where did he catch fire for 54 points in the performance that officially announced him as a superstar back in 2014? At MSG.
What’s ironic about that 54-point performance is that even though it was Curry’s most dominant individual showing at MSG, it’s also the only game he’s lost there. The Warriors lost that game 109-105. Do the math and Curry hasn’t lost at MSG in over a decade.
What is it about the most famous arena in the world that gets Curry going?
The most charitable possible explanation for the Luka Dončić trade — and this was already a stretch — was that it improved the team’s short-term prospects. Nico Harrison told us as much when he said, “The future to me is three to four years from now” in his post-trade press conference. Anthony Davis, though not nearly as valuable as Dončić, complements Kyrie Irving quite well. Max Christie has already played well in Dallas, and the extra first-round pick gained gave Dallas another chip to use for further upgrades over the summer. That still probably didn’t make the post-Dončić Mavericks better than the pre-Dončić Mavericks, but a justification existed if you were willing to look for it hard enough.
Well, Year No. 1 of that theoretical window went up in smoke on Monday when Kyrie Irving tore his left ACL. It’s entirely possible that Year No. 2 is gone as well. There’s not exactly a fixed timeline for ACL recoveries. Consider the cases of Iman Shumpert and Derrick Rose. The two of them both tore ACLs on the same day: April 28, 2012. Shumpert was back on the court by Jan. 17, 2013. Rose did not play a single minute during the 2012-13 season. Late-season ACL tears like theirs have derailed multiple seasons for several critical players. Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021, and did not return until the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Irving is in his 30s. He has a lengthy history of injuries, especially in the left knee, that includes his presently torn ligament. There is no guarantee whatsoever that Irving will play next season. Even if he does, the odds of him returning to full strength by the playoffs don’t appear great.
Luka Dončić trade continues to haunt Mavericks as Kyrie Irving injury exposes worst-case scenario Brad Botkin Luka Dončić trade continues to haunt Mavericks as Kyrie Irving injury exposes worst-case scenario That means the first season in which Dallas can reasonably expect to have its two pillars healthy from start to finish would be the 2026-27 campaign, the third year of that stated window. That will be Davis’ age-33 season and Irving’s age-34 year. Davis himself has a lengthy history of injuries. He has thus far played just 31 minutes in over a month as a Maverick. As bad as this looks now, it would only take one less-than-freak occurrence to make things a whole lot worse.
Could Dallas trade its way into a roster capable of holding down the fort until Irving returns? Well, maybe, but remember, they failed to extract every ounce of value from the Lakers in the Dončić deal and are somewhat limited in what they can offer. They don’t have a bad salary either. Any salary they use to match money on a possible acquisition is going to be attached to someone they’d miss. Say they want to chase Kevin Durant, as was reported at the deadline. He’s owed $54.7 million next season. It would take three or four good players to match money there, and even if they did, they’d be bringing in another aging, injury-prone star.
In short, we’re looking at maybe one or two years of winning here on the GM’s own timeline. After that, things get dark. Not just on the basketball court, but within the entire framework of the organization’s place in professional basketball. The Mavericks have already lost a substantial amount of fan support in the wake of the Dončić deal. They’re probably going to lose more of it after they decided to raise season-ticket prices on Monday. Their push to win before this season also cost them quite a bit of their future. Dallas doesn’t control its own first-round picks between 2027 and 2030. When this core ages out, there won’t be young prospects coming in to replace them.
That’s bad enough, but they get even worse when you consider where those picks are going. The 2028 pick is owed to the San Antonio Spurs through a swap. The 2029 pick is likely to go to the Houston Rockets outright. The 2030 pick is headed to the Oklahoma City Thunder through a swap. Two of those teams play in the same state as the Mavericks. The third is geographically closer to them than either the Spurs or Rockets. These teams are, effectively, the three biggest regional competitors the Mavericks have for the loyalty of prospective basketball fans. Those three teams also happen to have three of the most promising young rosters in the NBA. Guess which teams fans in that part of the country are going to flock to as this Dallas situation continues to deteriorate? It’s either them or Dončić’s Lakers, who have never had trouble attracting fans outside of their home market.
This is not just a basketball issue. This is an existential crisis for the Mavericks, the sort that can make or break a team’s standing in the league for decades. What this team does in the next few transaction cycles is going to determine whether or not the city of Dallas will ever embrace the Mavericks again. And what they should do, as soon as humanly possible, is clear: trade Anthony Davis.
Let’s make this clear from the jump: none of this is Davis’ fault. The overwhelming majority of teams would be thrilled to have him. The Mavericks are simply in the middle of a wholly unique mess of their own creation, one in which Davis makes sense neither off the court nor on it. To an extraordinarily angry fanbase, Davis is fighting an uphill battle. Short of potentially winning a championship, there is little he can do to shed the label of “the player we have instead of Luka Dončić.”
Kyrie Irving injury puts Mavericks in an unimaginably grim position, both short- and long-term James Herbert Kyrie Irving injury puts Mavericks in an unimaginably grim position, both short- and long-term What Dallas needs, more than anything, is a fresh start, a new young player for the fan base to rally around. They have a very brief window to find that player. Jasmyn Wimbish explained in detail why it’s time for the Mavericks to tank here, but here’s the short explanation: Dallas has two chances left to control its own pick this decade. After the 2026 draft, they have no safe way to position themselves to add a notable young player. Their pick this year, given the injuries they’ve endured, will almost certainly be at the backend of the lottery. If they can weaken the roster enough, their pick next year could be closer to the front of it. Their next chance to do so after 2026 won’t come until 2031.
Two lottery picks guarantee nothing, but remember, trading Davis would do more than just weaken next year’s team. Such a deal would presumably net an impressive haul in its own right. Not nearly the sort of return teams would have given up for Dončić, but, well, Davis is already a sunk cost. This is where the Mavericks stand today. The 10-year Dončić window is closed. Most of the three-or-four-year Davis and Irving window is now closed, and it’s no certainty that it ever re-opens. The Mavericks made their bed and now they have to sleep in it. Two lottery picks plus whatever they can get back for Davis and their other veterans may not be a slam dunk of a rebuild, but given the grim outlook this win-now plan faces after Irving’s injury, it’s still the best this team can do.
It helps that a rebuild wouldn’t be fully starting from scratch. The Mavericks have at least two youngsters with considerable upside in Dereck Lively and Max Christie. Jaden Hardy is going to benefit from the on-ball opportunities Irving’s absence creates, and he’s locked into an extremely favorable contract. These are players who could be part of the next winning Mavericks team, but none are equipped to lead the Mavericks into the post-Davis and Irving future. That’s what they’re going to have to do if Dallas stays the course here.
The most obvious roadblock here is Harrison. He bet his career on Davis. It seems almost impossible to imagine him giving up the star he wanted badly enough to trade away Dončić. But we’re not writing about what’s best for Nico Harrison. We’re writing about what’s best for the Dallas Mavericks. And if Nico Harrison stands in the way of what’s best for the Dallas Mavericks, then Nico Harrison should no longer be the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks.
There’s plenty of justification for a leadership change already. The job of a general manager is to position his team for both the present and the future. It’s hard to imagine any general manager who openly dismisses a future beyond four years well-suited for the job. A report from Tim Cato of DLLS even surfaced suggesting that Harrison is not planning to hold the job for the long haul. If that is indeed the case, even letting Harrison make the trade was irresponsible on the ownership’s part. The goals of a general manager and an organization need to be aligned. It’s not clear that they are in Dallas. And from a fan retention perspective, moving on from Harrison might be a necessary step. The trust between city and franchise has been broken. The first step in mending it would be installing someone the fan base does trust in the GM seat moving forward.
Where does Irving fit into this? He still has a surprising amount of leverage. He has a player option for next season. Whether he’s capable of playing or not, the Mavericks have to re-sign him. The notion of letting him walk for nothing when the entire team was just retrofitted around his timeline is simply untenable. As low as this team’s championship odds with Davis already are, they drop to zero if Irving isn’t part of the team. Even hurt, he is far and away the most popular Maverick today. If there’s any lingering goodwill with the fans here whatsoever, it dies if Irving leaves.
There’s a reasonable compromise for both sides here. Rudy Gobert gave them a template when he declined his $46.6 million 2025-26 player option to re-sign in Minnesota for $109.5 million over three years. Doing so lowered his immediate cap hit, but guaranteed him long-term money. Irving, given the risk of entering free agency in 2026 coming off of an ACL tear, would probably be amenable to something like that, and by locking him in long-term, the Mavericks would probably have an easier time convincing him to be cautious when it comes to his recovery timeline. If they’re tanking, it doesn’t make sense to play him next season anyway. His best chance at returning anywhere near an All-Star level would be with the 19-month recovery timeline skipping year would create, and that would give the Mavericks a chance to immediately become relatively competitive as soon as they stand to give away picks. The last thing anyone in this organization should want would be giving the Thunder, Rockets or Spurs high draft picks.
What sort of market would Davis garner if he was made available? Not the one Dončić would have had the Mavericks shopped him properly, but still a considerable one. Houston stands out as the ideal suitor, given its depth of assets and its ability to send Dallas its own 2029 pick back. Golden State has been interested in the past and still controls the bulk of its future draft capital. The same could be said for Sacramento, who sorely needs a rim-protector to pair with Domantas Sabonis. Speaking of teams needing rim protection, an under-the-radar option might be Phoenix. Durant is almost certainly headed out over the summer, so perhaps there is a three-way construction that pairs Davis with Devin Booker and turns Durant into a younger asset for Dallas. Davis remains an All-NBA-caliber player. Finding him a home wouldn’t be difficult.
That home just shouldn’t be in Dallas. It never should have been in Dallas. If Dallas was ever going to trade Dončić, it should have been for the sort of package that a star typically nets: one loaded with young players and draft picks. This harebrained win-now-without-the-second-best-player-in-the-NBA scheme never made sense from the start, and the Irving injury only underlined the risk that Dallas didn’t seem to know it was taking. It’s time for the Mavericks to cut their losses and start over. As unappealing as that might sound, it’s a far brighter future than the one they’re headed for when the Davis-Irving era inevitably peters out.
The Detroit Pistons (33-26) have the Denver Nuggets (38-21) coming into town for a tilt on Friday. The Pistons blew out the Boston Celtics 117-97 in a contest on Wednesday. Detroit is on an eight-game win streak, its longest since 2008. The Nuggets have dropped two of their last three games. Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks beat Denver 121-112. This will be the second and final contest between these teams this season, and Denver beat Detroit 134-121 on Dec. 28. Aaron Gordon (ankle) is questionable for Denver.
Tipoff from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit is at 7 p.m. ET. Denver is a 1-point favorite in the latest Nuggets vs. Pistons odds via SportsLine consensus. The over/under for total points scored is 239. Before locking in any Pistons vs. Nuggets picks, make sure to check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 19 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 147-106 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 18-10 (64%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has simulated Nuggets vs. Pistons 10,000 times and just revealed its coveted NBA picks and betting predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several NBA odds and NBA betting lines for Pistons vs. Nuggets:
Nuggets vs. Pistons spread: Denver -1 Nuggets vs. Pistons over/under: 239 points Nuggets vs. Pistons money line: Denver -113, Detroit -107 DEN: The Nuggets are 30-28 against the spread this season DET: The Pistons are 33-24-2 against the spread this season Nuggets vs. Pistons picks: See picks at SportsLine Nuggets vs. Pistons streaming: FuboTV (Try for free) Why the Pistons can cover Guard Cade Cunningham is an all-around playmaker for the Pistons. The 23-year-old ranks 11th in the league in points (25.7) and third in assists (9.5) with 6.3 rebounds per game. He’s scored at least 20 points and dished out at least seven assists in six straight games. In Wednesday’s win over the Celtics, Cunningham notched 21 points and 11 dimes.
Center Jalen Duren gives the Pistons an athletic and bruising force in the paint. Duren is 11th in the NBA in rebounds (10.3) and fourth in field-goal percentage (69.7%) with 11.1 points per game. The Memphis product has 27 double-doubles this season. On Feb. 24 against the Clippers, Duren had 12 points and 19 boards. See which team to back at SportsLine.
Why the Nuggets can cover Center Nikola Jokic dominates the game in multiple ways. Jokic ranks third in the NBA in points (29.2) and rebounds (12.6) while being second in assists (10.4). Back on the Dec. 28 win over the Pistons, Jokic finished with 37 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Forward Michael Porter Jr. is a consistent three-level scorer in the frontcourt. Porter Jr. averages 18.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and shoots 41% from beyond the arc. The 26-year-old has scored 20-plus points in 22 games this season. In the Feb. 6 win over the Orlando Magic, Porter Jr. had 30 points and seven boards. See which team to back at SportsLine.
How to make Nuggets vs. Pistons picks SportsLine’s model has simulated Nuggets vs. Pistons and is leaning Under the total, projecting 229 combined points. The model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations. You can head to SportsLine to see the model’s NBA picks.
So who wins Nuggets vs. Pistons on Friday, and which side of the spread hits in well over 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Nuggets vs. Pistons spread to back, all from the model that has returned well over $10,000 on top-rated NBA picks, and find out.
Where to bet on NBA games Here are some of the sportsbooks to bet on NBA games today, along with the various NBA sportsbook promos they currently offer.
The New York Knicks (38-20) are set to begin a stretch of seven of their next eight games on the road when they travel to play the Memphis Grizzlies (38-20) on Friday. The Knicks are coming off a much-needed 110-105 victory over the 76ers on Wednesday after a pair of lopsided losses to the Cavaliers and Celtics. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are coming off a near 300-point combined game in a 151-148 overtime victory against the Suns on Tuesday behind a 29-point effort from Ja Morant. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) and Josh Hart (knee) are both questionable for the Knicks. Desmond Bane (groin) is questionable for the Grizzlies.
Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. The Grizzlies are favored by 4 points in the latest Grizzlies vs. Knicks odds, according to the SportsLine consensus. The over/under is 243.5 points.
SportsLine’s proven model has simulated Knicks vs. Grizzlies 10,000 times and revealed its best bets for this game. See all the NBA picks from SportsLine right here.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six-plus seasons. The model enters Week 19 of the 2024-25 NBA season on a sizzling 147-106 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, returning nearly $4,000. It’s also an outstanding 18-10 (64%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Here are the NBA best bets for Knicks vs. Grizzlies on Friday:
Under 243.5 (-110) The Knicks have gone Under in three of their last four games and the Grizzlies have gone Under in three of their last five home contests. The Knicks may be less than 100% with Towns and Hart battling injuries and whether they are out or playing at less than full health, that can hinder New York’s offense. Although the New York defense hasn’t been as elite this year, ranking 14th in scoring defense compared to fifth last year, only two of New York’s last 11 games totaled at least 245 points scored. See all of the model’s Friday NBA picks here.
The Pick: Under 243.5 — The Under hits in 68% of the model’s simulations Projected final score: Grizzlies 119, Knicks 115
Bonus Friday NBA pick: Matt Severance is on a sizzling 50-11 (+2795) roll on Cleveland money-line picks. See who he likes in Celtics vs. Cavaliers in an Eastern Conference showdown right here.
Knicks to win (+144) The Knicks dominated the Grizzlies in a 143-106 victory at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 27 in their first meeting of the season. Memphis had a healthy Morant, Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. and New York outscored Memphis, 83-54, in the second half en route to the victory. The Knicks are 11-4 over their last 15 games with losses coming to the Lakers, Cavaliers and Celtics (twice), meanwhile, Memphis is 2-3 over its last five games. See all of the model’s Friday NBA picks here.
The Pick: Knicks +144 — The Knicks win in 41% of simulations, which brings value at these odds Projected final score: Grizzlies 119, Knicks 115.
Bonus Friday NBA pick: Mike Barner is on a 92-59 (+2199) roll on his last 151 NBA player props. He has a prop on Ja Morant’s scoring total in this matchup. See who he likes right here.
Want more NBA picks for Friday? You’ve seen the model’s NBA best bets for Grizzlies vs. Knicks. Now, get picks for every game from SportsLine’s model that’s on a 147-106 roll on all top-rated NBA picks dating back to last season, including an outstanding 18-10 (64%) on top-rated spread picks this season. Visit SportsLine to get all of its picks for Friday right here.
Also be sure to see the Friday NBA picks from SportsLine’s Bruce Marshall. He’s on a 32-19-1 (+1104) run on NBA over/under picks and you visit SportsLine here to get all his picks.
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The Orlando Magic were hoping to get Jalen Suggs back soon as maybe some kind of spark for their all-but dead offense, but that’s not going to happen, as the team announced on Friday that the Magic have ruled Suggs “out indefinitely, as a treatment plan is developed” due to a trochlea injury in his left knee.
Suggs left Orlando’s game vs. Toronto with back spasms and has only played once since. If you’re wondering what the trochlea is, here you go:
The trochlea is the groove on the femur that the kneecap glides in. ‘Trochlea injury’ is very vague and if anything suggests cartilage damage as that’s the only thing on the trochlea https://t.co/hMpNxsRzWN
— Brian Sutterer MD (@BrianSuttererMD) February 28, 2025 This is tough news for Suggs and the Magic, who are in desperate need of whatever help they can get — particularly on the offensive end, where they rank 29th since the return of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, both of whom are hovering around the 30% mark from 3-point range.
Suggs is just a 31% 3-point shooter himself, but he sort of makes the Magic go with his energy on both ends and can impact an offense more than his shooting numbers would suggest. At the end of the day, Suggs averages 16 points per game. With Moe Wagner also out for the year, Suggs would’ve been the only player outside of Franz Wagner and Banchero to even average double-digit points for the Magic.
Injuries have ravaged Orlando this season. They were looking like a threat for a top-four seed early on, but extended absences for Banchero and Franz Wagner (both suffered the same torn oblique injury) derailed it all, and then Suggs going out drove the nail in even deeper.
Banchero, Franz Wagner and Suggs have played just one game together since November. The Magic just do not have the firepower to make up for basically never having their three best scorers on the floor together. As it stands, Orlando is clinging to the East’s first Play-In spot, but is tied in the loss column with No. 9 Atlanta.
Since Suggs went out, the Magic have lost 17 of 25 games. The season is spiraling, but let’s just hope Suggs makes a full recovery long-term.
The Detroit Pistons have been rebuilding ever since they waived Blake Griffin in 2021. While fans are desperate to see winning basketball for the first time in recent memory, rushing the rebuild could cause the fragile franchise to spiral. However, over the last five games, Cade Cunningham is averaging 23.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 12.2 assists on 42.3% shooting from 3-point range.
On top of that, youngsters Ausar Thompson and Ron Holland have been thriving recently, although neither of them are expected to be the high-level star that would fit in well next to Cunningham. Instead, they are athletic, defensively gifted wings.
With plenty of young role players and draft capital, as well as ample room under the salary cap, the Pistons are expected to make a move before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. Whether or not that move ends up bringing a star to town remains to be seen, but a recent mock trade went over the top.
On Tuesday, Fadeaway World’s Ishaan Bhattacharya proposed a deal that would send Jalen Duren, Isaiah Stewart, Tim Hardaway Jr. and a 2029 first-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Zion Williamson and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.
A healthy Williamson would be the perfect fit next to Cunningham long-term in the Motor City, but a healthy Williamson would not be on the trade block. He has missed the majority of games in four of his five full seasons and is poised to do it again this year as he battles a hamstring injury.
While Williamson is worth gambling for, provided the Pelicans set the price right, Duren is expected to be a key part of the Pistons’ resurgence. If Detroit sends him away, Stewart is a capable center, although both bigs get sent away in this proposed deal.
Williamson’s career-high 8.0 rebounds per game was set this year, and he has only made six appearances. If the Pistons add Zion–which is incredibly unlikely–New Orleans will have to make a much better offer.
For over a week, LeBron James has usurped Jimmy Butler and Brandon Ingram as the biggest names on the NBA trade market. James, the greatest player of this generation, is in all likelihood not going to be traded this season. He would have to ask out, and his no-trade clause gives him the power to veto any trade.
However, if the Lakers struggle, he could decide to start fresh elsewhere for the fourth time in his career.
The Golden State Warriors have been named as the most plausible suitor for James, although the Los Angeles Lakers would demand a winning player in return for James, as well as draft capital.
With perimeter defense a big concern in Los Angeles, the Lakers have been linked to the New Orleans Pelicans and Herbert Jones. All indications point to Jones being effectively untouchable, although never in the Pelicans’ wildest dreams did they see themselves as a landing spot for The King.
If ideal circumstances are met, that could change.
If Zion Williamson returns and is healthy for the rest of the year, the Pelicans could very easily make a playoff push, although time is running out. Williamson will be re-evaluated near Christmas, but adding a reliable co-star makes sense.
James has a longstanding positive working relationship with Pelicans’ General Manager David Griffin, who made personnel choices during James’ second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. His departure to New Orleans has been cited as a reason why James left Ohio and headed West.
“You’ve got to be willing to have very difficult conversations with LeBron,” Griffin told Sports Illustrated in 2019. “I always was, which is why we had a great relationship, because I would tell him what he needed to hear and he respected that I was telling him that for the right reasons.”
If Griffin and James want to rekindle their successful partnership, there is a road for it to happen.
If the Pelicans offered Brandon Ingram and Jones for both LeBron and Bronny, the Lakers would be hard-pressed to say no. Provided Williamson is trending upward and CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray are both healthy, James might see The Big Easy as a better fit than Hollywood, especially if the Lakers are still struggling to right the ship.
Of course, in order to get James to waive his no-trade clause, Williamson will have to be ready to play, which has been a big gamble throughout his career.
The Nuggets need a talent upgrade in order to win a second championship. The Bulls need to trade their star Zach LaVine in order to keep their 2025 draft pick and continue to retool a roster with a low ceiling. Could a deal between the two sides be in the works?
The answer might be yes, according to reporting from The Athletic’s Tony Jones and Sam Amick. Those two released a report Tuesday night indicating that the Nuggets have “expressed interest in” LaVine, among other players. They added that “the focus on LaVine in recent discussions is significant.”
The Nuggets are in a tight financial situation. They’re above the first apron, meaning that they can’t take back more salary than they send out in any deal. And they don’t have a ton of tradable contracts. Michael Porter Jr.’s $35.8 million salary would have to be one of the outgoing pieces in any big trade.
Zeke Nnaji is also available, according to Amick and Jones. And importantly, there may be draft picks changing sides in this type of deal. “Any significant deal the Nuggets would do, may also have to involve a pick swap as a sweetener,” according to The Athletic’s report.
The Denver Nuggets’ somewhat disappointing beginning to the 2024-25 season has been surprising to say the least.
Even with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić contributing 30.9 points, 13.3 rebounds and 9.9 assists along with a blistering 48.9% shooting accuracy from distance, Denver holds a 14-10 record and sits at the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.
Highlights: Jerzy Robinson leads Sierra Canyon over Vanden in high school girls basketball
The 2023 NBA champions have now seen the consequences of losing valuable role players over the course of multiple free agency periods and the inconsistent play of Jokić’s co-star Jamal Murray.
As a team ranking No. 5 in points with a 119.2 average as a collective, recent reports have named Denver as a potential player in the trade market who will be looking to acquire an offensively gifted star from the Chicago Bulls to pair with their superstar center.
“League sources say the focus on (Zach) LaVine in recent discussions is significant, with the Nuggets interested in the 29-year-old who is averaging 21.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season,” The Athletic’s Tony Jones wrote Tuesday night.
“LaVine, a two-time All-Star, is owed $43 million this season, $45.9 million next season and has a player option worth $48.9 million for the 2026-27 campaign.”
As one of the more polarizing players being made available for trade this season, LaVine’s monster five-year, $215 million contract he signed with Chicago in 2022 was previously thought to have lessened the likelihood of the star shooting guard being dealt to a new home prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Now, Jones and Amick share that Denver has potentially conducted preliminary discussions on a trade revolving around LaVine.
LaVine’s most impactful season came in 2020-21, where the high-flying 6-foot-5 scoring threat averaged a career-best 27.4 points while connecting on 41.9% of his three-point attempts, leading to his first of two All-Star appearances for the Bulls.
With the possibility of LaVine being moved to Denver to keep the team’s championship window open, the focus moves to which salaries Denver would exchange with Chicago in order to work out the financial framework of a deal.
In return for LaVine, Denver would likely be forced to move the salaries of Michael Porter Jr. and Zeke Nnaji, though the Nuggets would surely love to retain Porter Jr. who is putting together one of his best seasons in 2024-25.
