Yearly Archive 2024年12月23日

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.

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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.

Behind an excellent performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo and a dominant second-half showing, the Bucks are winners of the second-ever NBA Cup. Milwaukee earned an impressive 97-81 win after outscoring Oklahoma City 46-33 in the final 24 minutes of play

Antetokounmpo was the standout of the night, recording a triple-double with 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Damian Lillard also impressed with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Thunder struggled mightily throughout the game. OKC finished the night shooting 5-of-32 (15.6%) from 3-point range, while leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was held to 21 points (on 8-of-24 shooting) and two assists.

If you missed the action, The Sporting News tracked score updates, highlights, news, and more from the 2024 NBA Cup championship.

We are now a third of the way into the season, and the MVP race is becoming clearer. There have been some terrific performances, but Nikola Jokic still has not relinquished the top spot he’s held since our first go at this in November.

Some players have cooled off considerably since then, while others have risen. Joel Embiid didn’t make our list to start the season and won’t be on any subsequent ones. He’s already missed enough games to fail to meet the 65-game threshold for the award. Also, Anthony Davis has fallen out of the top five after a Lakers slide.

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NBA MVP rankings
Nikola Jokic

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
   Averages: 30.9 PTS, 13.3 REB, 9.9 AST, 0.7 BLK, 1.8 STL, 55.8% FG, 48.9% 3PT

Team record: 14-10, 5th in Western Conference

Any MVP ranking that doesn’t have Jokic up top simply isn’t paying attention to what the big man is doing. He’s second in the league in points, assists and rebounds per game. Nobody has ever come close to leading all three of those categories at the same time.

It’s not as if those are empty stats, either. Denver has always leaned heavily on its star, but this season has been on a totally different level. The Nuggets are 30.1 points per 100 possessions better with Jokic on the court vs. off it, according to Cleaning the Glass, which ranks in the 100th percentile of players.

The way Jokic gets his points is remarkable. Because the Nuggets don’t have a lot of shooting, he has taken it upon himself to become one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. His 48.9 percent on those shots is behind only Taurean Prince and Isaac Okoro for the league lead, and he remains the best post-up player in the game.

This would be Jokic’s fourth MVP award. That would put him in a generational group including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James. He deserves to be among that company.

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2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
   Averages: 32.7 PTS, 6.1 AST, 11.5 REB, 0.6 STL, 1.6 BLK, 61.4% FG

Team record: 14-11, 6th in Eastern Conference

After a 2-8 start to the season, the Bucks are slowly creeping back up the standings in the East. It has been Antetokounmpo dragging them up that mountain.

Thanks to an improved midrange shot, Antetokounmpo leads the league with 32.7 points per game with remarkable efficiency. He has yet to shoot worse than 50 percent from the field in a game all season.

This is a bit of a down year for Antetokounmpo defensively, but a below-average season for him is still one of the better ones in the league. He broke up a key lob to get the Bucks to the NBA Cup final against the Hawks, showing he can still make huge plays on that end of the floor.