Basketball

The Los Angeles Lakers are believed to be interested in pursuing trades in hopes of improving their mediocre roster this season, and the team reportedly has some astronomical aspirations.

According to The Athletic's Jovan Buha on Saturday, the Lakers (12-16) have their eyes set on three superstar players as dream trade targets.

"In the ultimate pie-in-the-sky scenario, the Lakers have interest in Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal if any of the three stars were to become available," Buha wrote.

However, Lillard can't be traded until July 9 because he signed a two-year max extension with the Porland Trail Blazers (16-13) this past offseason.

On Dec. 15, players who signed free-agent contracts became eligible to be traded this season. Per Buha, the 74 additional players in the trade pool means "approximately 89 percent" of the league is able to be included in deals going forward.

Durant sent shockwaves through the NBA over the summer when he reportedly requested to be traded away from the Brooklyn Nets.

The 12-time All-Star ultimately decided to move forward with Brooklyn this season, and his decision is starting to pay off. The Nets (18-12) have won five straight games and nine of their last 10 to move up to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It's unlikely they will be looking to trade Durant any time soon, as he leads the team with 29.9 points per game.

Beal has once again struggled to stay healthy this year and hasn't played since Dec. 4 because of a lingering hamstring injury. In his 18 appearances, he's averaged 22.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists. The Wizards have not been able to put things together this year at 11-18, and they might be willing to move on from their star shooting guard for the right price.

Buha named DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Kyrie Irving and Doug McDermott as other players who have been linked to the Lakers in trade discussions. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported earlier this week that Los Angeles has also had talks about Bojan Bogdanović of the Detroit Pistons, as well as Evan Fournier and Cam Reddish of the New York Knicks.

It would appear that any of those players would be more realistic pursuits than Durant, Beal or Lillard.

Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving made his first career game-winning buzzer-beater in Friday's thrilling 119-116 victory over the Toronto Raptors, but the original plan wasn't for him to take the shot.

Nets star forward Kevin Durant revealed to reporters after the game that head coach Jacque Vaughn had drawn up a play for him during the team's final timeout, but he suggested that the ball should go to Irving.

"He was already cooking, so I didn't want to get in his way," Durant said. "We kept finding him late in the game. He made some big shots, and I was just like, 'Jacque, I think Ky should take this one."

The suggestion from Durant paid off, as Irving drilled a step-back three-pointer over Raptors guard Fred VanVleet to propel Brooklyn to its fifth straight win and ninth in the last 10 games. Durant explained that he knew Irving would get a good look at the basket "especially" because he was being guarded by VanVleet.

"I'm not saying he's a bad defender, but they're the same size," he said of the 6'2" Irving and the 6'0" VanVleet. "He didn't have a 6'9" [Scottie] Barnes or a 6'5" guy on him that had size, so I felt he could get whatever he want there, and I also felt like they wasn't going to run and double him either at the top of the key because he obviously could just beat that. So they let him play one-on-one, and it was a special, special shot."

Irving finished with a team-high 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting, his third 30-point performance in his last four games. The 30-year-old is now averaging 25.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season.

"It just comes with the trust that we're building here," Irving said of his game-winner. "Jacque had a play call that we were about to go execute, and me and K had some dialogue and we decided to run the play for me. A good matchup versus Fred. We just got the better of him that one time."

After some early-season tumult—most notably during Irving's suspension for promoting an antisemitic film and initially refusing to apologize—the Nets appear to have found the form necessary to be a contender in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn will go for its sixth straight win Sunday against the Detroit Pistons (8-23).

Los Angeles Lakers star point guard Russell Westbrook was once resistant to the possibility of coming off the bench, but after Friday night's performance against the Denver Nuggets, it's clear that he has fully embraced his new role.

Westbrook dropped a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to help lead the Lakers to a 126-108 victory at crypto.com Arena. It's his second triple-double in a week, becoming the only player in franchise history ever to record multiple triple-doubles off the bench in a single season.

LeBron James led the way with 30 points in the victory, his third consecutive 30-point game.

The 2017 NBA MVP brought an unmatched energy in the second half of Friday's game, which the Lakers needed after star big man Anthony Davis left the game at halftime because of a foot injury. Westbrook's effort helped facilitate a 21-point performance from backup center Thomas Bryant.

After a rough start to the season, Westbrook has now earned the respect of NBA Twitter. Fans on social media had no choice but to praise him for his strong showing against the Nuggets:

This has to be the most COMPLETE game that Russ has played in a Lakers uniform tonight. The Brodie is putting on a damn Clinic on both ends of the floor!!! Carry the hell on..,

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 17, 2022

did you apologize to Russell Westbrook yet??

— 73-9 and THEY LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) December 17, 2022

Fill in the blank: This is the ____________-best Russell Westbrook game of his Lakers’ tenure …

— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) December 17, 2022

There are three triple doubles off the bench in the Lakers 75-year history. Magic has one. Russell Westbrook has the other two. This week.

— Chris Palmer (@ChrisPalmerNBA) December 17, 2022

Westbrook had a triple-double in a Lakers victory they’re never moving him.

— Colb (@___Colb___) December 17, 2022

Love LeBron front-running, stat-padding, after Westbrook did the heavy lifting.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 17, 2022

Russell Westbrook in 30 minutes: 15 Points, 11 Rebounds, 12 Assists, 2 Steals, +25. He's always made his teammates better & now that he's in the right role under Darvin Ham, Russ is back to doing exactly that.#LakeShow

— Adam (@AdamJoseph____) December 17, 2022

Westbrook off the bench this season:

— 15/6/8
— 1st in triple-doubles
— 1st in assists
— 1st in 10/5/5 games

6th man of the year? pic.twitter.com/I3zeYRyCem

— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 17, 2022

A lot going on tonight for the Lakers but not to be overlooked: A very strong performance from Russell Westbrook in Anthony Davis’ absence. He’s up to 13 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals and the Lakers are a +23 in his 29 minutes.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 17, 2022

Russell Westbrook with 13-11-11. He's been spectacular.

— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) December 17, 2022

Big second half stat for Westbrook: Zero turnovers. AK

— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) December 17, 2022

Westbrook can make the game so easy when he feels like it.

— Waiting to Oxtail (@ThatDudeMCFLY) December 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/mtplug_grinder/status/1603990550750846976

Russell Westbrook has done an amazing job transitioning to this 6th man role. People don’t realize how hard of a switch that can be for guys who made a first ballot HOF career and millions playing one way and STILL have a lot of that ability.

— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) December 17, 2022

Russell Westbrook is the 1st Laker in history to drop multiple triple-doubles in a single season while coming off the bench. pic.twitter.com/IhmkiijFUt

— NBA History (@NBAHistory) December 17, 2022

Triple double from the bench....give it up for Westbrook 🙌🏾

— Marley (@Ayooluwamarley) December 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/_Talkin_NBA/status/1603985959137296396

https://twitter.com/jay_pea619/status/1603984036715630592

At 12-16, the Lakers are still trying to find consistency this season, but they have now won two of their last three games. With Westbrook settling into a groove, Los Angeles may have found a formula for success going forward.

The Lakers will look to keep the momentum going on Sunday when they host the Washington Wizards (11-18).

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis won't play Sunday against the Washington Wizards because of a foot injury, The Athletic's Shams Charania says.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported Davis is expected to undergo an MRI on the injury.

Davis appeared to suffer an injury to his foot in the first quarter of the game when his leg collided with Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. He didn't return to the game after halftime, finishing with 10 points in 17 minutes as the Lakers went on to win 126-108.

Davis has missed time with flu-like symptoms, lower back tightness and a left calf contusion this season, and injuries are nothing new for the future Hall of Famer. He appeared in just 40 games last season and 36 in 2020-21.

In fact, the 29-year-old has never played more than 75 games in a season and has reached the 70-game mark just twice since he entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

That hasn't stopped him from building a resume that includes a championship, four All-NBA selections, eight All-Star nods, three block titles and a spot on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

The Kentucky product's individual brilliance is one reason there is still hope in Los Angeles despite a slow start to the season, and he is averaging 27.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

While the Lakers can't realistically expect to replicate Davis' production while he is sidelined, look for Thomas Bryant to see more playing time.

The Philadelphia 76ers won their fourth straight game with a 118-106 victory over the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors on Friday at Wells Fargo Center.

Jordan Poole's 29-point night wasn't enough for the Warriors as the duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden took over down the stretch.

Embiid finished with 34 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks in 36 minutes. He made 11-of-23 shots from the floor and 2-of-3 shots from deep. It was his sixth straight game with 30-plus points.

Harden, meanwhile, finished with 27 points, nine assists and five rebounds in 37 minutes, making 8-of-15 shots from the floor and 4-of-8 shots from behind the arc.

NBA Twitter was quick to praise the veteran big man for his performance against the reigning champions:

https://twitter.com/yoda/status/1603940747585150977

Really nice dynamic between Embiid and Harden tonight. Kuminga took Harden to try to contain the ball, and Harden quickly tossed ball-handling duties to Embiid, who has taken the rock down the floor himself the last few trips and gotten the Sixers good looks.

— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) December 17, 2022

Joel Embiid been making 30, 10 & 5 look like a walk in the park this season. He playing at a ridiculous level right now

— kingtisemedia (@kingtisemedia) December 17, 2022

Embiid proved tonight why he is the front runner for MVP against the defending champs✅

Wasn't even close.

— Matt Downs (@cmattdowns) December 17, 2022

Love Embiid. Top 5 in the NBA right now.

— Nick (@Jironick_) December 17, 2022

James Harden and Joel Embiid are very good at basketball

— Deric (@somewhatderic) December 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/chessyfan_19/status/1603939813282963458

@JoelEmbiid MVP!

— Joe Dorsey Jr. (@JoeDorseyJr) December 17, 2022

https://twitter.com/GibblerJames/status/1603938207690899458

https://twitter.com/yoda/status/1603947908671442950

When Embiid plays this well, the Sixers can compete with any team in the NBA. Come the end of the season, the big man might very well be MVP for the first time after finishing second to Nikola Jokić in 2021-22.

The Sixers moved to 16-12 with the win. They'll be back in action at home Monday against the Toronto Raptors.

If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to make a trade, it's not going to be until the end of December at the earliest, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

However, Buha added that the Purple and Gold "have an urgency to get a deal done sooner than later," but they are "at the mercy of the trade cycle and the other teams' developing motives."

The Lakers have been one of the worst teams in the Western Conference this season, entering Friday's game against the Denver Nuggets with an 11-16 record. Having to fill out their roster with players on veteran minimum deals has really hurt their chances of capitalizing on having both LeBron James and Anthony Davis in L.A.

While the Lakers are looking to bring in some players, everyone aside from James and Davis is likely on the trade block. Buha lists Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn as the names that stand out.

The Lakers have long expressed interest in trading Westbrook since he turned in a subpar performance in 2021-22. However, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Thursday that Westbrook's improvement throughout the month of December "has made it increasingly unlikely that he will be traded before the league's Feb. 9 deadline."

The 34-year-old became L.A.'s sixth man in late October, and he has averaged 15.2 points, 7.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds since then. Additionally, he's averaging 28.2 minutes per game.

It's not surprising that the Lakers could be interested in moving Beverley and Nunn as both players have been disappointing this year.

Beverley, who was acquired in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, is averaging 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 21 games while shooting 30.3 percent from the floor and 25.4 percent from deep.

Nunn, meanwhile, is averaging 5.3 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 23 games while shooting 35.9 percent from the floor and 27.7 percent from deep.

In terms of players the Lakers might be interested in bringing in, they have been linked to Bojan Bogdanović, Evan Fournier, Cam Reddish, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Kyrie Irving and Doug McDermott, per Buha.

The Purple and Gold would also have interest in Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal if they were made available.

In any circumstance, the Lakers need to decide whether they would be open to parting with their 2027 and 2029 first-round draft picks. If they make those selections available, the return would be more significant.

Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown has been fined $25,000 for "aggressively pursuing and directing profane language toward a game official," during the team's Dec. 14 game against the Toronto Raptors, the NBA announced Friday.

The incident occurred during the third quarter of Sacramento's 124-123 win over Toronto. Brown was given two technical fouls and ejected from the game.

Brown was enraged after Terence Davis was called for a shooting foul and De'Aaron Fox was given a technical foul for arguing with an official during the third quarter of the game.

The 52-year-old then ran onto the court to confront the officials before players and coaches followed to hold him back. The Raptors were given five free throws as a result of Brown's two technical fouls, Fox's technical foul and Davis' shooting foul.

The entire ordeal could have cost Sacramento the game, but it rallied in the fourth quarter for the victory.

The Kings enter Friday's game against the Detroit Pistons sixth in the Western Conference with a 15-12 record. The team has seen significant improvement since finishing 12th in the conference last season with a 30-52 record.

Brown is in his first season as head coach of the Kings and is hoping to lead the team to a playoff appearance for the first time since 2006.

Before being hired by the Kings, he spent six seasons as an assistant on Steve Kerr's staff with the Golden State Warriors. He previously held various other roles across in the NBA, including serving as head coach of both the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.

The New York Knicks have made the playoffs just once since the 2012-13 campaign when they reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, and they've been stuck in mediocrity since despite immense pressure to turn things around.

That type of pressure appears to be deterring some free agents from wanting to sign with the Knicks.

An agent told Brian Wacker of the New York Post:

"It's almost become a thing around the league; is there a sense of urgency or is it just like every other year? Guys like [playing] there, but at least when it comes to free agents, there's a lot of, is someone gonna come save the Knicks? That scares some guys off."

The Knicks are desperate to make a deep playoff run, which is something they haven't done since they reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2000. They reached the NBA Finals in 1999 but fell to the San Antonio Spurs and haven't won a title since 1973.

While some free agents are reportedly hesitant to sign with the Knicks, the team did manage to land point guard Jalen Brunson in free agency ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. Of course, Brunson's father is an assistant on Tom Thibodeau's staff, but the former Dallas Maverick has spoken openly about not feeling overwhelmed.

"For one, it's not really pressure to me," Brunson told reporters in September of playing in New York. "I'm just going out there and playing basketball the way I've played for a long time. And two, I'm just going to be myself. I'm ready to go. Whatever it takes."

Additionally, if free agents are going to sign in New York, the Knicks are going to explore every available option on the trade market. In fact, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday that the Knicks "have been described by league personnel as one of the more active teams in early trade conversations" this year.

As the franchise searches for upgrades to a roster that has underperformed this season, the Knicks have reportedly made Evan Fournier, Derrick Rose, Cam Reddish and Immanuel Quickley available.

It's unclear what type of return the team could get with those players. However, it has a surplus of draft capital over the next few drafts with nine total first-round picks in the next five drafts, which it could use to land top-tier talent.

If the Knicks are going to part with any of those picks, it must be for a player they believe can help change the trajectory of the franchise, otherwise it would be best to hold onto those picks to land some of the top players in the next several drafts and build for the future.

New York enters Friday's game against the Chicago Bulls sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 15-13 record. Things are trending upward for Thibodeau's squad, which has won five straight games.

While the Golden State Warriors will be without Stephen Curry for at least two weeks because of an injured left shoulder, the two-time NBA MVP was happy to learn he wouldn't need surgery.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Curry described feeling a sense of relief after an MRI determined surgery wasn't necessary.

"Surgery would've been 4-6 months," he said. "Nobody was trying to deal with that right now."

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Curry will be reevaluated in two weeks after suffering a labral injury in his left shoulder.

The injury occurred in the third quarter of Golden State's 125-119 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Curry attempted to swipe the ball from Jalen Smith with his left hand, but he pulled his arm back and immediately grabbed his left shoulder.

Curry was on pace to have one of his best games of the season before the injury. He finished with 38 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes. The eight-time All-Star is tied for fifth in the NBA in scoring average (30.0 points per game) and is having a 50/40/90 season.

Losing Curry makes Golden State's attempt to climb up the Western Conference standings much more difficult. The defending NBA champions are 14-15 this season.

Jordan Poole, who has started each of the past six games, will likely see his playing time increase. The 23-year-old has been playing well, averaging 24.0 points on 44.3 percent shooting over his previous seven games.

Klay Thompson is also rounding into form after a slow start. He's making 44.2 percent of his three-point attempts in 10 starts since Nov. 20.

The Warriors could help offset the loss of Curry by improving on defense. They rank 15th in defensive rating (113.0) and 26th in points allowed per game (116.8).

Based on the two-week timeline, Curry will miss at least seven games. The earliest he could return is Dec. 30 for a home game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

James Harden's time with the Brooklyn Nets didn't last long, and one issue was his friction with Kevin Durant during the 2021-22 campaign.

"Harden and Durant, according to multiple Nets sources, butted heads during the season," Yaron Weitzman of Fox Sports reported. "Durant didn't think Harden was in peak physical shape, and told him as much."

Harden came to Brooklyn in January 2021, creating an exciting lineup of superstars alongside Durant and Kyrie Irving. In February 2022, Harden was shipped to the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that brought back Ben Simmons.

Despite high expectations for the trio in Brooklyn, the team failed to reach their potential, reaching just the second round of the playoffs in 2021. The Nets finished as the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference last year after trading away Harden, eventually losing in the first round.

"The whole two years was a low point. I've never really had to deal with something like that," Harden said of his time in Brooklyn. "My body, mentally, physically … It was a lot going on. I mean, basketball is everything to me."

In addition to reported conflicts with Durant, Harden also had issues with the Nets training staff.

A hamstring injury kept the guard off the court during his final weeks with the team before being traded to Philadelphia.

Hamstring issues also cost Harden over a month in 2020-21 regular season. He later missed three playoff games as the Nets lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.

Despite his miserable time in Brooklyn, Harden remains close with Durant. The former teammates spent time together at Harden's 33rd birthday on a yacht.

"Me and him are cool," Harden said of Durant. "We went on a couple summer trips together."