NBA Rumors: Buzz Leading into 2018 All-Star Weekend
The 2018 NBA All-Star Weekend kicked off with the Celebrity All-Star Game and Rising Stars Challenge in Los Angeles Friday night.
Saturday will feature the Skills Challenge, Slam Dunk Contest and Three-Point Contest. The main event will take place Sunday, when Team LeBron takes on Team Stephen in the NBA All-Star Game.
The NBA will then kick off its second half on Thursday, and a host of teams are gearing up for the playoffs. Some of them could be looking to add a veteran for the stretch run, while others could be satisfied with where there are at. However, those latter teams could also be looking to make a big splash in the summer.
Here's a look at a few of those squads and what they might do ahead of the end of the regular season or during the offseason.
What Will the Indiana Pacers Do in the Summer?
According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the Indiana Pacers could have some interesting offseason plans:
"Front-office executives around the league expect that the Pacers will be a player on the restricted free-agent market this summer, where some talented players could be the victims of a league-wide financial squeeze...Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart are bigger names expected to draw interest from the Pacers, and there could be bargains with the likes of Yogi Ferrell, Montrezl Harrell and Patrick McCaw."
Orlando Magic power forward Aaron Gordon may be the missing link between the Pacers being a playoff contender (they are fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 33-25 record) or a top-three Eastern Conference team. He could slide into the 4 and immediately help create one of the most athletic starting lineups in the league alongside shooting guard Victor Oladipo and center Myles Turner.
As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN noted on the Woj Pod (h/t Erik Garcia Gundersen of USA Today), Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was on the trading block leading into the Feb. 8 deadline, but teams needed to deal a first-round pick in return. Nothing came to fruition, but that rumor makes it clear Smart's time in Boston could be coming to an end.
If that's the case, then Smart could work out in Indiana thanks to his defensive intensity and versatility. The Pacers are 17th in defensive efficiency, per ESPN, and they will need to improve that ranking if they want to contend for an Eastern Conference title within the next few seasons. Smart, whom ESPN notes has a 1.01 defensive real plus-minus rating, could help the Indiana on that front.
Elsewhere, Dallas Mavericks guard Yogi Ferrell, Golden State Warriors guard Patrick McCaw and Los Angeles Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell could each boost the Pacers' bench.
Ferrell, who is averaging 10.2 points per game in his fourth NBA season and played college ball at Indiana, could serve as a backup point guard or shooting guard. McCaw, who is the Warriors' occasional fill-in starter, could do the same at the 2.
Harrell would bring a heavy dose of energy off the bench. The 6'8" forward out of Louisville is averaging 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in just 15.4 minutes per game. He's also shooting 61.6 percent from the field and has a sterling 23.5 player efficiency rating.
It will be interesting to see how the Pacers will attack the offseason and which players they will be able to land before next year.
T-Wolves Out on Derrick Rose; Wizards In on Ty Lawson?
Although the NBA trade deadline has been and gone, teams can still pick up veteran free agents for the stretch run. Some players have had their contracts bought out, meaning they can join another interested team. For example, guard Marco Belinelli went from the last-place Atlanta Hawks to the playoff-contending Philadelphia 76ers within the span of a few days.
A few more veterans are out there, and there could be a few others available if their respective teams choose to buy out their contracts.
Two players who could join new teams right now are point guards Derrick Rose and Ty Lawson. Marc Stein of the New York Times reported that Rose's future home may not be decided until after the All-Star break:
Stein connected the Minnesota Timberwolves to Rose earlier in February. A Rose-Wolves pairing seemed like a good fit considering Rose's former coach with the Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, is leading the Timberwolves.
However, Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune quoted team owner Glen Taylor as saying the team would not be making a push to sign the 2010-11 MVP.
Elsewhere, Wojnarowski noted the Washington Wizards are interested in bring Lawson aboard:
The Wizards could be without star point guard John Wall until April, as the former Kentucky Wildcat recently underwent a knee scope, per Wojnarowski.
Although Tomas Satoransky has done well in Wall's absence, and although it looks like Wall should be fine for the playoffs, the team could use a backup point guard, especially considering they are in the middle of the big mess that is the Eastern Conference standings.
Washington is in fourth place, which earns home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA playoffs. However, their lead over the fifth-place Pacers is just a half-game, and the seventh-place Philadelphia 76ers are only one game back in the loss column.
Therefore, signing Lawson could be a prudent move, especially if the Wizards suffer any further backcourt injuries.
