NBA BS Meter: No Market for Zach LaVine? Klay Untouchable? Buying Harden's Truth?
The month of December has already brought us some exciting news and rumors from around the NBA.
From an update on Zach LaVine's trade market, Jaden Ivey's rocky start to the season in Detroit, James Harden's supposed max offer being pulled by the Philadelphia 76ers and more, there's never a dull moment in the league.
It's BS meter time once again.
Zach LaVine Doesn't Have a Trade Market
1 of 5
The Chicago Bulls are trying to trade Zach LaVine, although the phone isn't exactly bouncing off the desk with offers.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski told NBA Today:
"There is not a market for Zach LaVine right now in the NBA. That's not because Chicago has not tried to find it and aren't currently trying to find it. It's a combination of a few reasons. LaVine's contract at four more years at around a $45 million or $46 million a year average. But his productivity. I think this is a player right now who is out right now with a foot injury. He's been in and out of the lineup. I think the question for teams is how much does Zach LaVine impact winning. Especially at that salary and with a new salary cap where you're asking for yourself 'Are you trading for him to be our best player? No. Our second best player? No. If he's our third best player, do we want to pay that kind of money?'"
Wojnarowski is right on the money here.
There would be plenty of teams calling about LaVine if he was making $25 million per year instead of $45 million. His numbers are down across the board, though (21.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 33.6 percent shooting from three), with Chicago actually improving by 6.3 points per 100 possessions with him on the bench this season, per Cleaning the Glass.
No team will want to take on this contract if it isn't even sure about the kind of impact LaVine is going to make on winning, especially since a lot of salary is going to have to go back out.
Unless a team gets desperate closer to the trade deadline (Toronto Raptors? Los Angeles Lakers? Charlotte Hornets?) it's hard to see a LaVine trade actually getting done.
BS Meter: None detected. LaVine needs to play better to get his stock up if he wants a trade out of Chicago.
76ers Promised James Harden a Max Deal?
2 of 5
The James Harden-Daryl Morey saga is the gift that keeps on giving, with the 10-time All-Star recently shedding more light on his exit from the Philadelphia 76ers.
In an interview with The Athletic's Sam Amick, Harden said the Philadelphia president of basketball operations had verbally committed to giving him a max contract this past offseason a year after the veteran guard agreed to take a pay cut so the team could sign P.J. Tucker and others.
Of course, that offer never came and Harden ended up picking up his player option before eventually being traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Harden said:
"It surprised the hell out of me, you know what I mean? I looked at it like a marriage. We talked about a lot of s--t. And we've got a lot of s--t that, in front of people's eyes, you don't know or understand. But instead of (Morey) having a conversation with me (about free agency) or saying, 'All right James, we don't want to offer you this, but we have this.' Then we go back and forth, and that's a dialogue. But you just ice me out? Then it's like, you don't respect me as much as I thought you did. You don't need people like that, you know what I mean? So it's just bad karma. People were throwing dirt on my name, but the good guys always win."
So, was Harden's public shaming of Morey in August actually due to his not getting a max deal?
That would make sense if the 34-year-old hadn't already told the league he was referring to not getting traded quickly enough when he called Morey a liar.
Maybe Morey was planning on giving Harden a max deal and changed his mind after seeing the aging guard score just nine points and five turnovers in a Game 7 meltdown of a loss to the Boston Celtics.
There's a good chance the money is what Harden was mad about all along.
BS Meter: Oh, there's definitely some BS from someone here. Morey will never come forward and admit to promising Harden a max, even if he did, though.
Warriors Have 'No Desire' to Trade Klay Thompson
3 of 5
The Golden State Warriors are off to a 9-11 start to the season and currently sit outside of the Western Conference play-in tournament.
The form of Klay Thompson has been a major reason why, as the veteran guard is averaging the fewest points (15.7) since his rookie season in 2011-12.
The 33-year-old's efficiency is also down (36.1 percent from three, worst of his 11 seasons), and the Warriors have been 6.7 points per 100 possessions better when he's on the bench.
Despite all of this, and the fact that Thompson is on an expiring $43.2 million contract, he shouldn't be worried about a trade out of town.
"To be clear, the Warriors do not want to trade Klay Thompson. They have no desire to do it," ESPN's Zach Lowe said on The Lowe Post podcast. "I would bet heavily against it ever happening."
While it may make sense basketball-wise to trade Thompson and get some better help next to Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and others, this isn't a typical situation.
Four championships, five All-Star teams and 13 years with Golden State has accumulated a lot of organizational credit for Thompson, and deservedly so.
New general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. won't want one of his first big moves to be trading away a franchise icon, even if it did help the on-court product.
The Warriors have to hope Thompson can get back to a high level of play and make changes elsewhere on the roster before reevaluating his relationship with the franchise this summer in free agency.
BS Meter: No BS. The Warriors aren't trading Thompson, for better or worse.
Jaden Ivey's Playing Time Has 'Sparked Some Tension' Inside Pistons
4 of 5
Jaden Ivey was one of the most exciting prospects in the 2022 NBA draft and even surprised some fans and analysts by falling to Detroit at No. 5 overall.
His presence was one of the few bright spots last year for a terrible Pistons team that was without Cade Cunningham for the majority of the season. The talented combo guard averaged 16.3 points, 5.2 assists and was named to the All-Rookie second team.
His spot in the starting lineup seemed like a lock, yet new head coach Monty Williams chose Killian Hayes—a career 37.6 percent shooter in his three seasons—to start ahead of the 21-year-old.
While this was a bizarre decision (especially as the Pistons went winless through November), the lack of communication between Williams and Ivey is perhaps the most troubling part.
"There wasn't anything said," Ivey told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Making young guys earn their spots on a young team is one thing, but what had Hayes done to deserve the starting job over Ivey?
The trio of Cunningham, Ivey and Jalen Duren are the most important parts of this rebuild in Detroit, one that may not even include Hayes after he failed to come to terms on a rookie extension with the franchise this fall.
Ivey has started just six of his 16 games this season. His minutes are notably down (31.1 to 23.1) as are his shot attempts (13.3 to 8.2).
Williams' inconsistent playing of Ivey has "sparked some tension among Detroit decision-makers this season," according to Fischer, and for good reason.
Williams is a good coach, but he's handled this situation terribly overall. Ivey, Cunningham and Duren need to be on the court together as much as possible this season.
BS Meter: No BS here. Ivey should have been a starter from Day 1.
There 'Hasn't Been a Change' in Josh Hart's Role with Knicks This Season
5 of 5
After making a huge impact following his trade to the New York Knicks last season and then signing a four-year, $80 million extension this past summer, this was supposed to be a big year for Josh Hart in the Big Apple.
So far, though, the 28-year-old wing hasn't made the same impact, and he cited a lack of touches and rhythm in New York's 12th-ranked offense for that.
"I'm a rhythm player," Hart said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "So sometimes if I don't touch the ball for four or five minutes running up and down the floor, just catch-and-shoot, I might as well be playing with a football. I feel like I have no feel for [the ball]. There are definitely times I [pass up shots] because I'm not in the rhythm. I don't like the feel of it."
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau denied any difference from last year to now.
"There really hasn't been a change," he said. "To be honest, his usage is up. He's handling the ball more. The way he's being used is not any different than last year. He's pushing the ball up in transition. He hasn't shot the three as well as he did last year. But he's open, he can't hesitate. He's got to shoot it."
"Yeah, we'll go with that," Hart responded sarcastically when told of his coach's comments, per Bondy.
So, who's right?
Hart's usage rate with the Knicks following the trade last season was 13.7 percent, according to Cleaning the Glass. Despite what Thibodeau thinks, this number has actually dropped to 12.2 percent overall.
Here's some side-by-side raw numbers as well, comparing 2022-23 to Hart's stats this season when these comments were made:
- 2022-23: 30.0 minutes, 10.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals
- 2023-24: 28.3 minutes, 7.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.9 steals
It appears the Villanova product has a point.
A big part of this team's rotation and overall success, the Knicks need to find the Hart of last season. Some recent success (13.7 points in 30.8 minutes) suggests they might have.
BS Meter: BS here on Thibodeau's part, although Hart's role may finally be increasing once again.
