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With front office personnel leaving Orlando and the G League Showcase, trade talk is now in full swing around the league. Let's break down some of the latest talk around the league.

Bucks looking at adding Zach LaVine

While most fans (and plenty of content producers) are heading to trade machines looking for ways to get Giannis Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee, the Bucks are in "desperate pursuit" of ways to bring in talent, re-energize the 11-18 team, and make Antetokounmpo happy (or, at least, less unhappy).

Enter Zach LaVine, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes, who reported this:

"The Milwaukee Bucks are in desperate pursuit, looking out on the trade market to see if they can bring in a difference-maker type of player. Sources have relayed they are canvassing the market, and one of the guys I identified is Zach LaVine of the Sacramento Kings."

While LaVine is available, there have been no serious talks between the sides, Hayes reports. It would be a difficult trade to construct because LaVine makes $47.5 million this season, it would likely require Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis and more heading out of Milwaukee (and maybe a third team involved).

Whether or not this specific deal comes together, it shows the Milwaukee front office's mindset: they are not trading Antetokounmpo unless he demands it and forces them to, and instead they want to be buyers at the deadline.

Lakers eying defensive wings Jones, Ellis

"Being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now," Lakers coach J.J. Redick said of his team's point of attack defense after the Spurs eliminated the Lakers from the NBA Cup, a game in which San Antonio's young guards blew by their defenders, touched the paint, and either made a shot or sprayed it out for an open 3-pointer.

It's why the Lakers are looking hard at defensive wings, specifically good 3&D wings, Dan Woike of The Athletic reports. The challenge is that there aren't many of those players, and all 29 other teams are interested in them as well.

The Pelicans' Herb Jones is at the top of the list, but all reports out of New Orleans are that the asking price for him (or Trey Murphy III) is exceedingly high (the Pelicans don't really want to trade either). As Woike put it, the Pelicans "have signaled to interested teams that they're not entertaining Herbert Jones trades — at least not at any cost the Lakers can meet."

Sacramento's Keon Ellis also is available, a disruptive perimeter defender but a limited ball handler and not strong enough to switch onto larger forwards defensively. While Ellis is drawing more interest from other teams than the Kings' big three stars, he is a divisive figure among scouts, and it might be telling that both of the Kings' last two coaches — Mike Brown and Doug Christie — have limited his minutes.

Other defensive wings might be available — Derrick Jones Jr. (Clippers), Terrance Mann (Nets), Andrew Wiggins (Heat) — but the Lakers can trade one first-round pick, one second and find a matching salary (likely starting with Gabe Vincent), and the question becomes, will that be enough?

Nets make Michael Porter Jr. available

Brooklyn was expected to be active at the trade deadline, in part because they have more cap space than any other team and are likely a third team in to help facilitate any big trades.

However, they are looking to make one on their own and are testing the market for Michael Porter Jr., reports Jake Fischer at The Stein Line. It's not just Porter, the Nets are "willing to listen to pitches on the bulk of their veteran players," which would include Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, Terance Mann, and more.

Porter Jr. is averaging 25.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, shooting 40% from 3-point range — he can help the offenses of a lot of teams. Porter Jr. is making $38.3 million this season and is guaranteed $40.8 million next season in the final year of his contract.

Consider Porter Jr. the name to watch for teams looking to make a big splash at the deadline and improve their playoff chances.

Warriors eying Gafford, Claxton

While the Warriors are reportedly patiently eyeing the Giannis Antetokounmpo situation (although constructing a trade that works with the Bucks is nearly impossible at the deadline), what they really want is a rim-protecting big man, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes on Amazon's NBA on Prime coverage.

Specifically, the Warriors are eying three players: Daniel Gafford (Mavericks), Nic Claxton (Nets), and Robert Williams (Trail Blazers).

"You look at the Warriors — rebounding and block shots, they're in the bottom half of the league," Haynes said on the broadcast. "And points in the paint, they are dead last. So they are looking for an athletic center…

"Those are three names who are on the Golden State Warriors' list of targets, to try to bring in a rim-running, block-shot defender. I was told they are really serious and they are trying to do everything they can to try to get the team back to being of the caliber of a championship-contending type."

Guerschon Yabusele

The Knicks signed Greece's Guerschon Yabusele last summer, with the big man coming off a solid season for the 76ers. That hasn't worked out as planned, so the Knicks are now open to trading him, reports James Edwards III at The Athletic.

Yabusele has not found a comfort zone with the Knicks this season, averaging 3 points a game on 39.4% shooting (30.6% from beyond the arc). That is not attracting many suitors, as Edwards notes.

Multiple league executives believe the Knicks would have to attach something to Yabusele in order to have a chance to move him before the deadline. Other than what New York does or doesn't do with Yabusele, the franchise has long put out feelers about adding another ballhandler and/or frontcourt player, per league sources.

Just something to watch as we approach the deadline.

Coby White

Among the names most mentioned as trade talk ramps up is Chicago point guard Coby White.

There are a number of teams looking for point guard help who are not interested in the big-name/big-expense players (Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball), and White might be the best of the next tier of players. White has been good for the Bulls this season, averaging 21.2 points and 5.2 assists a game, but he is shooting 29.8% from 3-point range (he's a career 36.7% from deep) and he is a minus defender. Still, he is in demand.

In his substack, Marc Stein reported that this "doesn't mean they'll actually move him before the Feb. 5 trade deadline, but the Bulls have left the impression with rival teams inquiring about White that they are more open to trading White than they've ever been."

Just something to watch going forward.

Malik Monk

Monk has not been a key part of Doug Christie's rotation in Sacramento of late, but some teams believe a change of scenery would do him good and he could work as a sixth man.

The Kings have made Monk available, reports Chris Haynes.

The Kings have made pretty much everyone except Keegan Murray available by trade, they are one of the big sellers at the deadline, but how much interest there is in Monk, an injured Domantas Sabonis and others remains to be seen (Keon Ellis is the one name drawing a lot of interest).

Instead of talking about how, on some nights — when everything clicks, like it did Monday against the Magic — the Warriors look like a team that can be a threat in the West, we are talking about this:

Steve Kerr and Draymond Green got into a heated argument on the bench early in the third quarter Monday night, with Green leaving and going straight to the locker room. Although he returned to the bench, he never got back into the game.

Everything started at the 8:47 mark of the third quarter when Green turned the ball over, which led Golden State's Quinten Post to commit a take foul. The Magic capitalized, with Desmond Bane knocking down the free throw and then Anthony Black hitting a turnaround jumper for a three-point possession. A frustrated Kerr called a timeout.

"We got into it, obviously," Kerr said after the game, via Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area. "And I took the timeout because I thought we lost our focus there a little bit. And we had it out a little bit. And he made his decision to go back to the locker room to cool off."

Kerr said everything else was private and he would not give more details. It was much the same playbook from Green and Stephen Curry postgame.

"Tempers spilled over," Green said. "And I thought it was best that I get out of there. I didn't think it was a situation where it was going to get better. So, it was best to remove myself."

Why did Green think this latest in a long line of arguments with his coach would blow over? Because every other one has.

"We've been at this now for a long time," Green said. "So, sometimes when you're with people for a long time, there's a level of comfort, and s--t happens. We move forward."

Maybe it blows over, but it's worth noting that the Warriors outscored the Magic 54-26 after Green left the game. That comes on the heels of a game in Phoenix where Golden State flipped a 10-point deficit into a lead without Green on the court, and the Warriors went on to get the win.

The argument overshadowed one of those nights when the Warriors don't look like the 15-15 team they are, but show signs of being a threat in the West. Stephen Curry scored 26, Jimmy Butler 21, and the Warriors picked up a win over a quality Magic team.

In the wake of the gambling scandal that rocked the league at the start of the season — where some gamblers allegedly used inside information about a team sitting key players late in the season to place bets — the NBA is again looking for ways to reduce tanking. The league wants to limit teams from "deliberately manipulating" their rosters or sitting players to improve their Draft Lottery odds.

That was a key topic at a Board of Governors meeting last Friday, with the league soliciting ideas from owners, general managers and others, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. He said the league presented several ideas seeking feedback, ones designed to keep non-playoff teams from tanking, including:

• Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections.

• No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row.

• Locking lottery positions after March 1.

No new regulations have yet been adopted, the league is still gathering information and floating ideas. Any changes would require approval from the Board of Governors (the owners).

Some of the teams tanking the hardest in recent seasons were when a team had a mid-lottery pick protection, and teams changed their rosters or sat players in order to retain those picks for a year. For example, Dallas had a top-10-protected pick in its 2023 and sat Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić in their final game; or, like the Jazz this season, who have a top-eight-protected pick, although they are not yet tanking hard (but other teams are watching their moves heading toward the trade deadline).

The third suggestion — locking lottery positions on March 1 (or another date) — would simply lead teams to tank earlier in the middle of the season.

The second proposal — not allowing a team to select in the top four in consecutive years — would have directly stopped two of the best young teams in the league from forming. San Antonio drafted Victor Wembanyama (2023), Stephon Castle (2024), and Dylan Harper (2025) with top-four picks in consecutive years and they form the core of the current No. 2 team in the West. Houston drafted Jalen Green (2021), Jabari Smith Jr. (2022), Amen Thompson (2023), and Reed Sheppard (2024) high in the lottery to form key parts of its young core as well.

The challenge for the NBA is that basketball is a sport where one player can literally change a franchise's prospects, and elite teams need a top-5-10 player and a couple more in the top-25-30 to contend. The best — and often only — way for most teams to get those players is through the draft. Teams have scouted the level of talent coming in for every class (and this coming June's draft is particularly deep at the top), which will always lead teams to look for ways to improve their chances of getting one of those picks.

The league last amended the draft rules to limit tanking in 2019, after "the process" 76ers became a story and the league was concerned about a race to the bottom by other teams. At that time, the league changed the odds so that the three worst regular-season teams each have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance of being in the top four. As a result, over the last three seasons, the team with the worst record in the NBA fell to fifth, while Atlanta (10th-worst record) and Dallas (11th) jumped up to land the No. 1 pick.

The NBA already introduced new injury reporting rules, which also were tied to the gambling scandal that hit the league. The league is forcing teams to update their injury reports on game days earlier and more often so that there is no inside information about a player or players sitting out (or coming back) that someone with inside information could profit from.

Happy Holidays! We’ve got another unusual week in the association, with zero-game slates and Christmas Day games on deck.

Let’s get into what we might expect moving forward.

→ Watch the NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock! The Nuggets take on the Mavericks at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the Rockets at the Clippers at 11 p.m. ET. Both games are available on Peacock. Check your local listings for the NBC game in your area.

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STOCK UP

Brook Lopez — C, Clippers

The Clippers ended their five-game losing streak with a win over the Lakers this past weekend, but lost arguably their most durable player, Ivica Zubac, in the process. With Zubac out for at least the next few weeks, that provides Lopez a massive opportunity to become a relevant fantasy basketball option. In his first year with the Clippers, Lopez has underwhelmed and been completely out of the rotation for stretches while the team struggled. Yet, he took advantage of his increased playing time against the Lakers and finished with 11 points, three three-pointers, and a pair of blocked shots — anything along those lines should be expected as he presumably steps into the starting lineup for the time being. The veteran center has the potential to log some even better performances if the three-point volume remains. Nonetheless, Lopez is in a good spot, and if he plays well over the next couple of games, he could be a worthwhile fantasy option.

Russell Westbrook — PG/SG, Kings

It’s not all bad for everyone on the Kings; just ask Westbrook, who remains a nightly triple-double threat in his 18th NBA season. The BIG numbers aren’t there as frequently as once before, but the former league MVP is still getting the job done in several categories — he’s averaging his most points and assists since the 2022-23 season, and his most rebounds since Year 1 with the Lakers. And on high volume, Westbrook is shooting the best three-point percentage of his career. He’s taking advantage of his starting role with Sacramento and has been one of the team’s most productive players. His stock should continue to rise as he gets more comfortable and grows in his role.

Kyshawn George — SG/SF/PF, Wizards

George has hardly slowed down after a very fast start to his sophomore season. The scoring has fluctuated over the past week, mostly due to inefficient three-point shooting, but he has made up for it by functioning as an impactful passer, productive rebounder, and a disruptive defender who consistently collects stocks. The bottom line is that George is proving he can remain an impactful fantasy basketball player on any night, given his ability to be involved in several areas of the game — this is his floor. His ceiling is the occasions when he’s got it all clicking. He’s averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists over his last three.

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STOCK DOWN

Malik Monk — SG, Kings

It’s been a down season for the Kings and several of their veteran players. Of the many established names on the roster, Monk is the latest to find himself in an unfavorable spot. Before logging five minutes of game action in Sacramento’s recent come-from-behind win in overtime over Houston, he had spent the previous two in uniform but unable to crack the rotation. The versatile combo guard has, admittedly, been confused by the sudden lack of playing time, as have many followers, such as myself. Monk had combined for 34 points, eight assists, and six three-pointers in the two games prior to being benched, and also had 25 points and five threes in a game against the Rockets earlier this month. It doesn’t appear as though a return to the rotation is imminent, leaving him firmly in this “Stock Down” category.

Mark Williams — C, Suns

Williams’s lack of involvement and production on the offensive end has been both surprising and concerning, following an eight-game streak of double-digit scoring performances, which included four with at least 15 points. He hasn’t played more than 19 minutes in three of the last four games, resulting in five or fewer shot attempts and less than 10 points in said games. Williams is also collecting just 5.1 rebounds per game in December, far below the 9.1 he tallied in November and the 9.4 in October. Perhaps a more favorable matchup with the Lakers, whom he logged 20 points against in between his three recent low-scoring games, could get him back on track.

Andrew Wiggins — SG/SF/PF, Heat

It’s difficult to say exactly what’s caused the Heat to sputter over the past few weeks and lose seven of their last nine games. However, receiving minimal scoring production on offense from one of the team’s more proven players could be part of the issue. Whether due to low volume or inefficient shooting, Wiggins has scored better than 13 points only twice so far in December — he’s been even less productive as a scorer recently, averaging 9.0 points on 9-of-31 shooting over the past three games. Contributions on the defensive end have helped keep the fantasy production from falling off. Still, fantasy managers would like to see the former NBA champion pick up his scoring production and put together more well-rounded performances.