The NBA All-Star break is officially behind us, which means it’s a great time to go around the NBA!
We have no shortage of storylines to get to as the league returns for its final stretch and push for the playoffs. Despite the deadline passing, trade rumors continue to swirl and some drama has lingered. It looks like this offseason is already shaping up to be a fun one.
Let’s go around The Association!
© Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesNBA Notes
It feels like over the past few years after winning the title, we’ve gotten whispers about whether or not Giannis Antetokounmpo could end up moving on from the Bucks at some point. After that NBA title in 2021, the Bucks have failed to get back to the mountaintop, and if anything, they’ve taken a step back ever so slightly. Giannis has always said he’s fully committed to winning in Milwaukee, but it’s also been made known if he’s not certain that the Bucks are as committed as he is, he could look elsewhere. Essentially, he has zero interest in participating in a rebuild, it seems. To make things more interesting, we have a few conflicting ideas floating out there regarding the Bucks superstar forward. The first came from as good of a source as there is, The Greek Freak himself! Giannis told Eurohoops that he would be open to a trade if the team decided to pursue one, but he could never actually envision himself requesting one. Read his comments here.Giannis Antetokounmpo speaking to COSMOTE TV about trades: "NBA is business, if I got traded I would do my job, but I don't think that I would ever text (and ask for a trade), I am not this kind of guy, they would have to kick me out"More coming at @Eurohoopsnet
— Aris Barkas (@arbarkas) February 19, 2025 Oddly enough, that statement from Giannis contradicts comments from Shams Charania. Thursday morning on ESPN, Charania said that Antetokounmpo could look elsewhere if he doesn’t see “sustained, long-term success” with the Bucks. Now, Giannis is by no means putting it out there that he wants a move. I think he’s keeping the same sentiment that he prefers to win in Milwaukee, but winning within itself is seemingly more important than staying with the Bucks.Shams Charania says Giannis Antetokounmpo wants to stay in Milwaukee, but if he doesn’t see sustained long-term success there, he will look elsewhere(? @GetUpESPN ) pic.twitter.com/nVqrQMYkiO
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 20, 2025 This feels a bit like an empty-calories type of story. Is Giannis frustrated that the Bucks have taken a step back and stalled a bit since 2021? Sure. But I also don’t think he’s ready to say that Milwaukee isn’t working toward sustained success. Antetokounmpo begins a three-year, $175 million contract next season. He’s very unlikely to go anywhere this offseason. However, with another report like this from as connected of a source as there is in basketball, it wouldn’t be a stunner to see Giannis ask out of Milwaukee if the team fizzles out in the playoffs and can’t pull off a massive move to improve the team. This next headline caught me off guard quite a bit. Earlier this week, Howard Beck of The Ringer reported that Ja Morant could be a superstar to keep an eye on this summer if the Grizzlies were to have a quick exit from the NBA Playoffs. Morant is in year two of his five-year, $197 million contract. Obviously, he’s had his off-court issues in the past, as well. Moving on from a 27-year-old, homegrown, franchise point guard seems like a crazy idea. That said, we’ve seen some insane things happen as recently as this deadline, so we can’t rule anything out. If the Grizzlies didn’t believe Morant was part of their best interests going forward, selling as high on him as possible would be the wise move to make. However, I find it nearly impossible that someone could see what he does on the floor and come to the conclusion moving on from him is wise. The only way he gets moved, in my opinion, is if Memphis doesn’t trust him to be their franchise player after his incidents off the court. This rumor seemed like a weird one, and it only came from one source, so we’ll see. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Let’s go from potential trades to ones that actually happened. Well … sort of. Mark Williams WAS traded to the Lakers prior to the trade deadline earlier this month, but it was nixed due to a failed physical with LA. Last night, Williams and the Hornets took down the Lakers 100-97. After the game, Williams mentioned he didn’t believe the deal was rescinded strictly due to the injury. He felt that maybe Los Angeles had some buyer’s remorse and got cold feet about what they were giving up in order to get him. After Williams voiced his opinion, his agent Jeff Schwartz added some fuel to the fire with the following statement: “The overwhelming sentiment, after conferring with multiple, nationally recognized doctors, is that the Los Angeles Lakers should not have failed Mark Williams on his physical,” per ESPN.Statement from Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management: "The overwhelming sentiment, after conferring with multiple, nationally recognized doctors, is that the Los Angeles Lakers should not have failed Mark Williams on his physical."
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025 It’s an odd story. Clearly, something showed up in Williams’ physical that the Lakers didn’t like, but I also probably don’t believe that he wasn’t healthy enough for the deal to go through. Williams felt like a perfect fit for what the Lakers needed in their lineup. A big, physical center who could rebound, play defense and throw down a lob. But, at the same time, he’s had his fair share of injuries and LA paid a steep price to acquire him. It wouldn’t stun me if they didn’t see perfect results from that physical and decided to rescind the deal because of it. Either way, I would have to imagine the assets LA used to acquire Williams will be right back in play this summer, as they’ll most certainly look to go all-in as long as LeBron James is still playing. We got pretty brutal news regarding one of the game’s brightest young stars. Victor Wembanyama will miss the rest of the regular season after being diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Fortunately, the Spurs reportedly don’t feel too concerned about the long-term implications, as they feel confident he’ll be healthy and ready to go next season. Best wishes to Wemby! Spurs Rule Victor Wembanyama Out for Season (Possible Draft Lottery Implications?) In some better injury news, the Mavericks are feeling optimistic about where Anthony Davis is in his recovery from a left adductor strain. Davis was having an awesome first game with Dallas after being traded from the Lakers in the Luka Doncic deal but suffered the injury in a cruel twist of fate. Fortunately, he’s progressing and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The biggest win for Davis in all of this was that he was able to avoid surgery. It’s great to hear that his recovery process is now progressing in a positive direction. I’m really pulling for Davis going forward. It’s not his fault that he was traded for Luka Doncic, and he’s an outstanding player in his own right who can help the Mavs make another convincing playoff run.Anthony Davis injury up Anthony Davis, who suffered a left adductor strain on Feb. 8 against Houston, is making good progress.Davis will be re-evaluated in two weeks. Get well soon, AD ? #MFFL pic.twitter.com/SZS46zOlZ8
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 20, 2025 After yet another disappointment of an NBA All-Star weekend, the league is reportedly discussing more changes to the event next year. The latest tweak being considered, according to Front Office Sports, is a one-on-one tournament that would pay the winner $1 million. My first reaction is that this would be intriguing, and I think the only way to get players to really care is financial incentive. However, for as much money as a million dollars is, I still think you’ll see a lot of stars who are making $40-50 million per year go through the motions a little bit. It will certainly increase the effort level compared to what we’ve seen in the past, but I’m also not positive it’s a long-term fix. If that’s the route the league goes, however, I think it’s worth a shot. It can’t hurt, right? Feb 16, 2025; San Francisco, CA, USA; Shaq’s OGs guard Kyrie Irving (11) of the Dallas Mavericks controls the ball against Chuck’s Global Stars center Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets during the 2025 NBA All Star Game at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Read More Details
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