Category: Basketball

Since returning from the sciatica that cost him the start of the season, LeBron James has blended in perfectly with the 17-6 Lakers, a guy with an all-around game willing to do whatever the team needs on any given night. Most recently, in Philadelphia, that was drop 29 points on the 76ers when Luka Doncic was out.

While the fit works, this is the first time in his career LeBron is on a team not constructed around him, where he is asked to fill a role more than be the star everyone else orbits around. Combine that with LeBron being a free agent after this season, and there has been some online speculation about a trade — despite the fact LeBron has a no-trade clause and has said nothing about waiving it.

Rich Paul, LeBron's agent, shot down any trade rumors fast on the “Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul” podcast (produced by The Ringer).

Kellerman: "Is LeBron, realistically, a guy who could not be on the Lakers at the end of this year?"

Paul: "No."

Kellerman: "He will be on the Lakers at the end of this year?"

Paul: "Yeah. Where's he going to go?"

Constructing a LeBron James trade creates many of the same obstacles as trading Giannis Antetokounmpo (and explains why he is more likely to be traded during the offseason). LeBron makes $52.6 million this season. In a world of tax aprons, how many teams can take on that large a contract for what would be the No. 2 or 3 player on a championship-caliber team? Beyond that, the teams LeBron might want to join — Cleveland, New York, Golden State — are all up against the tax aprons, with restrictions on what they can do (none can take back more money than they send out) and little room to maneuver.

LeBron was never going to be traded during the season, and he knew that when he picked up his player option.

Paul also said during the interview that he did not believe the Lakers, as currently constructed, are contenders in the West and wouldn't even make the Western Conference Finals.

This summer, when LeBron is a free agent, things will be different. The conventional wisdom around the league is that LeBron wants to play one more season — a grand farewell tour — and it's not likely to be with the Lakers. How much of a salary discount he is willing to take to get where he wants to go, or how the Lakers could work with him on a sign-and-trade, remains to be seen, but that is when the action will be. Not at the trade deadline.

NEW YORK (AP) — Miami Heat player Terry Rozier pleaded not guilty Monday to charges he helped gamblers placing bets on his performance in NBA games.

The 31-year-old point guard formally entered the plea during his arraignment in federal court in Brooklyn on wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges, and was released on $3 million bond secured by his home in Florida and another property. Prosecutors say Rozier conspired with friends to help them win bets on his performance in a March 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets.

He was also instructed not to gamble, have firearms or to have any contact with victims, co-defendants and witnesses in the case. Rozier, who's from Ohio, additionally surrendered his passport and was restricted to traveling between Florida, Ohio and New York unless granted prior approval.

Rozier, wearing a gray suit, didn’t speak in court other than to answer the judge’s “yes” or “no” questions.

He declined to comment afterward, but his lawyer, Jim Trusty, said his client was “excited” to begin mounting his defense against the charges.

Trusty said at a hearing later with the five other defendants in the case that he would soon be filing a motion to dismiss the case based on constitutional grounds.

He also urged the judge to proceed with the case on “speedy” timeline, saying Rozier is dealing with “multiple layers of litigation,” including arbitration with the NBA.

But U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall brushed those concerns aside, saying “arbitration with the league is of no concern for me.”

She set the next hearing in the case for March 3 after hearing from prosecutors that they would soon be handling over “voluminous” amounts of evidence to defense lawyers, including an initial set of 1,000 documents and more than 55 gigabytes of data.

More than 30 people have been arrested in the sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to professional sports, including several Mafia figures. Portland Trail Blazers coach and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups has pleaded not guilty in a separate scheme to fix high-stakes, Mafia-backed illegal poker games.

Prosecutors say Rozier informed the bettors that he intended to leave the game against the New Orleans Pelicans early with a supposed injury, allowing gamblers to place wagers earning them tens of thousands of dollars.

Rozier played the first nine minutes and 36 seconds of the game before leaving, citing a foot issue. He did not play again that season.

The other NBA figure ensnared in the investigation is Damon Jones, who pleaded not guilty last month to charges he provided sports bettors with nonpublic information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis while serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season. Jones, a former NBA player, is also indicted along with Billups and others in the separate poker scheme.

Both Billups and Rozier have been placed on unpaid leave from their teams as their court cases play out.

Rozier has earned about $160 million over a 10-year NBA career. He was a first-round pick for the Boston Celtics in 2015 after starring at the University of Louisville. Charlotte traded him to the Heat last year.

We are six days away from Dec. 15, when the official start of the NBA Trade season begins (although much more happens once general managers from around the league gather in Orlando for the G-League Showcase Dec. 19-22). With that, the trade talk is ramping up around the league. Here are some of the latest rumors.

Anthony Davis

The Eastern Conference feels more wide-open than ever, which has three teams — Detroit, Toronto and Atlanta — thinking they are one move away from contending. That has them eyeing Anthony Davis, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Pistons (19-5), Raptors (15-10) and Hawks (14-11) represent high-level threats in their conference and are having seasons that give hope that a player like Davis -- a 10-time All-Star who has spent his entire career in the Western Conference -- can elevate them into a viable championship-quality team.

Detroit also has been linked to Utah's Lauri Markkanen — who would be a better fit — on the theory that the team is looking for another shot creator and scorer at the four, to play off Cade Cunningham and next to the breakout center Jalen Duren. A Detroit trade for AD would be centered on Tobias Harris to balance salaries, plus picks and younger players.

Atlanta was hoping to get a boost from Kristaps Porzingis as a pick-and-pop five and rim protector next to Trae Young, but that has yet to happen in part due to injuries. Davis could slide into that role and Poringis' expiring salary plus a young player and picks could head back to Dallas. That said, Atlanta reportedly wants to assess what its roster looks like when Young returns from his sprained MCL, likely later this month. Toronto plays an up-tempo, five-out system with Jakob Poeltl as the big man. Davis would be an upgrade to that and push a team that is a surprising 15-10 and fourth in the East into another tier.

For all of these teams, they need to think about Davis' next contract extension — the 32-year-old Davis is eligible for and wants one after this season, and while he's not going to get the max (four years, $275 million) he's going to make $50+ million a season. Do teams want to sign up for multiple years of a mid-30s player with a lengthy history of nagging injuries at that price?

Klay Thompson/Daniel Gafford

Dallas' interim co-general managers — Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi — are open to trading more than just Davis, Charania reports.

The Mavericks are open to exploring the trade markets for Davis, center Daniel Gafford and guards Klay Thompson and D'Angelo Russell, sources said.

Gafford is the name we hear most around league circles as in demand — a rim-protecting, pick-and-roll big who had a real connection with Luka Dončić on the court (which is why the Lakers come up as a possible suitor, although good luck finding a Dallas GM who would make another trade with the Lakers). Gafford could help any team that runs a lot of pick-and-rolls.

The market for Thompson is smaller — he's a big name and a future Hall of Famer, but not the same player at this point in his career — but shooters who understand floor spacing always have a place. The market for Russell would be limited, but there are teams seeking depth at the one.

These three are people to watch, they may be more likely to be on the move than the massive contract of Davis.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

While Charanaia's sources are telling him "the writing is on the wall" with an Antetokounmpo trade, league sources NBC Sports speaks with are still hesitant to say a deal will happen before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Antetokounmpo being sidelined for a few weeks with a calf strain has quieted the talk somewhat, but the core of the situation has not changed, according to league sources. The two big questions remain:

1) Will Antetokounmpo officially, formally, forcefully ask for a trade? The Bucks are not going to trade Antetokounmpo until he makes them. To make them do that by the deadline, Antetokounmpo has to be the bad guy and loudly ask for a trade (meaning his agent tells the Bucks that and makes sure it leaks to the media). Antetokounmpo pushed the Bucks to talk to the Knicks last summer, but that came late in the summer (after the Mikal Bridges extension), and with only one team, there was no deal to be made.

Just remember that Antetokounmpo has another, more passive path out of Milwaukee: Tell them next summer he will not sign an extension with the team. That has the same effect — the Bucks would have to trade him instead of risking losing him for nothing — but he can spin that he never asked for a trade. That and the fact that getting Antetokounmpo to a place he wants to be during the season — in a fair deal for both sides — is next to impossible in a tax apron era. Which is why a trade in the offseason is more likely.

2) Will the Bucks try to get Antetokounmpo where he wants to go, or will they take the best offer for them? Antetokounmpo has a well-reported fascination with playing for the Knicks and competing for a title with them. Putting aside questions of how well he would fit next to Jalen Brunson for now, the simple fact is a lot of teams — Atlanta, San Antonio, Houston and others — could put together much better trade returns for the Bucks than the Knicks could. Those teams have young players and a lot of draft picks to help a rebuilding team. If Antetokounmpo asks out, how big is his list of preferred teams? He is only going to end up in New York if he forces that to happen by saying that is the only place he would sign an extension (and even then, a team could take a one-year swing like the Raptors did with Kawhi Leonard in 2018-19).

Jonathan Kuminga

When Kuminga earned a DNP-CD from Steve Kerr on Sunday, it sparked another round of trade rumors for the fifth-year forward. It's no secret that the Warriors are open to trading him — they pushed him into a contract extension designed to be dealt: Two years, $46.8 million, with a team option on the second year.

Kuminga is averaging 12.4 points and 6.3 rebounds a game this season in what has been a roller coaster of a season for him. Teams will be willing to take a flyer on him, and it will be interesting to see after Jan. 15 — the day he becomes eligible to be traded — which teams step up and explore the idea. Over the summer it was the Kings and Suns, but things look different for both of those teams now and their interest level may not be the same.

LeBron James

LeBron is only on this list to squash the speculation about any potential trade. Much like Antetokounmpo, the only way LeBron would have been traded at the deadline was if he demanded it publicly, and his agent, Rich Paul, told Max Kellerman on the Game Over podcast that it is not happening. Paul was unequivocal that LeBron will be on the Lakers at the end of this season.

This summer, when LeBron becomes a free agent, things get interesting. For now, the Lakers and LeBron are going to chase another NBA Cup title and, after that, an NBA title this season (although Paul said in that same interview he does not think these Lakers are contenders or have enough to make the Western Conference Finals).

Domantas Sabonis/Zach LaVine/DeMar DeRozan

The Kings have come to realize it's time to pivot away from the roster that broke their playoff drought, but one that had a real ceiling (the Kings have long been the, well, kings of short-term front office thinking, such as trading Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis). With that, all the big names are on the table, Charania reports.

They are open-minded about trade talks throughout the roster, sources said. Teams are monitoring veterans Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, along with 25-year-old guard Keon Ellis.

There is more buzz about Sabonis than the other two big names, a lot of teams could use a scoring and rebounding big. Ellis, the 25-year-old fourth-year guard who is a plus defender, has a lot of fans around the league and any team taking on one of the old-guard players will want Ellis thrown in the deal.

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