NBA

Xavier Moon's game-winning jumper gave the Ontario Clippers the NBA G League Winter Showcase championship with a 99-97 win over the Windy City Bulls.

The Vegas lights shine bright, but these guys shine brighter! The @OntClippers are your Showcase Cup Champions at the 2022 #ATTWinterShowcase. pic.twitter.com/psLFp6YIUf

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) December 22, 2022

The G League is featuring the Elam Ending in 2022-23, and the teams were shooting for a 99-point winning score. Moon's two-pointer broke a 97-all tie to give the Clippers the victory.

Brandon Boston Jr. led six Clippers in double figures with 21 points. He and Moussa Diabate, who scored 17 points, had four blocks apiece.

Jason Preston stuffed the statsheet with 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Malik Fitts added 19 points and eight boards. Moon added 17 points off the bench.

The non-NBA and non two-way players on the team will share $100,000 in prize money after the big win.

For the Bulls, Carlik Jones' 22 points led all scorers. Ethan Thompson and Daniel Oturu scored 15 points apiece, and the latter also grabbed 12 rebounds.

The event is described as follows on the G League website:

"AT&T NBA G League Winter Showcase is the NBA G League's annual in-season scouting event, when all teams converge in one city to play in front of NBA general managers and player personnel executives from all 30 NBA teams. The 2022 event – Dec. 19-22 in Las Vegas, Nevada – will mark the 18th Showcase, featuring 31 games over four days spread across two courts."

Thirty teams (the 29 G League teams and the NBA's G League Ignite) competed in four regional pods to start the showcase. The winner of each pod plus the next four best teams by winning percentage moved onto the eight-team Showcase knockout tournament.

The No. 7 Bulls defeated the No. 2 Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the No. 6 Cleveland Charge to reach the finals, while the No. 4 Clippers took down the No. 5 Iowa Wolves and No. 8 Maine Celtics.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James saluted former teammate Dwyane Wade on being a nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame's Class of 2023.

Congrats to my brother @DwyaneWade on being on the eligible candidate HOF list!! I mean he ain't no candidate, he's IN!!!!! Hahaha! 🫡🙏🏾

— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 22, 2022

Wade, a 13-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion, is among the first-time nominees. He's widely expected to go in on the first ballot. Basketball Reference gives him 100 percent Hall of Fame odds based on his résumé.

Wade averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 assists ad 4.7 rebounds per game over 16 seasons and was one of the best 2-guards of his era. A member of the NBA's 75th anniversary team, he came in at No. 26 when ESPN ranked the greatest players ever in 2020 and at No. 28 when The Athletic published its own list in 2022.

No player has been more closely associated with D-Wade than LeBron.

Wade and James spent four-plus seasons together, first with the Miami Heat and then with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their reunion in Northeast Ohio only lasted 46 games before Wade headed back south to Miami.

During their four-year Heat run, the pair won two titles. Along with Chris Bosh, they helped usher in a new era in the NBA. Increased player empowerment was probably inevitable as the league's revenues rose, but The Decision is the clear demarcation point when top stars began wielding more influence and control over their careers.

The Hall of Fame will announce its newest inductees on April 1 during the weekend of the 2023 Final Four. Assuming Wade is among the honorees, you can expect James to be in attendance when he officially joins the game's icons at the enshrinement ceremony in August.

The Phoenix Suns reportedly rejected a trade offer for Jae Crowder from the Washington Wizards centered around young forward Rui Hachimura, according to a report from basketball insider Marc Stein.

Per that report, the Suns wanted a starting-caliber player in return for Crowder.

Hachimura reportedly doesn't make the "starter-worthy" cut for the Suns.

The 24-year-old has largely been relegated to duty off the bench for the Wizards in the past two years, averaging 11.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for the team this season while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three in 23.5 minutes per game.

After making 105 starts for the team in his first two seasons, averaging over 30 minutes per game in each campaign, Hachimura made just 13 starts for the team last season and none this year. Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert have been preferred to Hachimura, earning bigger roles.

Injuries have played some part, as Hachimura missed about a month this season with a bone bruise in his ankle. The inability to consistently stay on the court—he's logged 50 or more games in a season just once due to injuries—has limited the fourth-year players's upside in general during his career.

The Suns, meanwhile, are in serious need of depth on the wing after Crowder chose to remain away from the team heading into the season and Cam Johnson is recovering from a torn right meniscus.

Mikal Bridges is locked into place as the team's starting small forward, while Torrey Craig, Damion Lee and Landry Shamet have seen their roles increase.

If the Suns are going to make a title push, getting another quality player to add to the mix in exchange for Crowder will be key. Having the 32-year-old veteran away from the team is hardly ideal, though to this point, the Suns clearly haven't gotten the type of offer they want.

Ja Morant isn't sweating the Western Conference.

During an interview on ESPN's NBA Today on Wednesday, Malika Andrews asked Morant who he thought the Memphis Grizzlies might have to get through to win a title, and he said the Boston Celtics.

"No one in the West?" Andrews followed up.

"Nah," Morant replied. "I'm fine in the West."

The Grizzlies (19-11) are tied for the top record in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets. Other contenders include the New Orleans Pelicans (18-12), Phoenix Suns (19-13) and Los Angeles Clippers (19-14).

Then there's the matter of the defending champion Golden State Warriors, who have limped out to a 15-18 record but have still won four of the last eight NBA championships.

But Morant isn't sweating them or anybody else in the conference.

LAS VEGAS — Rival executives in attendance at the NBA's annual G League Winter Showcase are of the belief that Atlanta Hawks star point guard Trae Young could be the next player on a rookie max extension to request a trade if the team doesn't make inroads come postseason time.

Young, 24, is as competitive as they come and has a strong desire to win big in this league. He's under contract through the 2026-27 season but has an early termination option after the 2025-26 season.

Atlanta has struggled to find the chemistry that propelled it to the Eastern Conference Finals two years ago. Last season, the Hawks won just one playoff game, losing in five games to the Miami Heat. This season, they are on a similar trajectory with an underwhelming 16-16 record, ninth in the Eastern Conference. All that despite the offseason addition of star guard Dejounte Murray, a player Young encouraged management to pursue.

This week, Atlanta ownership reassigned president Travis Schlenk—who drafted Young—to an adviser role. How the Hawks shape the roster around Young under general manager Landry Fields, the newly appointed front-office chief, will be monitored closely. A source told B/R that Young and Fields meet routinely and have a great relationship.

Fields has the green light from ownership to do what's necessary to acquire upgrades, but the hard part is executing. John Collins has been made available in trade talks, but it is unclear if the organization can return a package that would make the team better.

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DeRozan Could Ask Out This Summer

The Chicago Bulls are dealing with some dysfunction as it pertains to team chemistry and accountability while stationed 11th in the Eastern Conference standings (13-18). If matters don't improve this season, rival executives believe it could lead star guard DeMar DeRozan to request to be moved in the offseason, league sources tell Bleacher Report.

DeRozan, who has been the Bulls' most consistent star, has one year remaining on his deal. Playing on an expiring contract is a non-starter for most high-caliber players. The options: Extend after the season or ask for a new location. Chicago has its work cut out.

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Clarkson and Jazz Engaged in Extension Talks

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson and his representatives have entered into contract extension dialogue, league sources tell Bleacher Report.

The situation is fluid as both sides are working toward a resolution that could even result in shelving talks and letting the 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year test free agency next summer when he would be one of the top guards on the market. It would require Clarkson, 30, to decline his $14.3 million player option. He's averaging career highs of 20.1 points and 4.5 assists per game.

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Christian Wood Available?

Rival teams have begun monitoring what the Dallas Mavericks intend to do with center Christian Wood. Dallas has yet to show any indication that he has been made available for a trade, but some teams believe that could change soon.

The 27-year-old veteran is playing on an expiring contract and will be extension-eligible Dec. 24. He'd be eligible for a four-year, $77 million extension. The fit in Dallas hasn't been the most fruitful, and Wood has publicly and privately petitioned for a bigger role.

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The Return of GP2

Portland Trail Blazers guard Gary Payton II hopes to make his season debut next week, league sources tell Bleacher Report. The defensive stalwart has been recovering from offseason surgery to a core muscle.

The organization thought he would have returned to action a month earlier, sources say, but Payton opted to take his time to heal not only physically but mentally. He will receive his championship ring Dec. 30 when the Trail Blazers visit the Golden State Warriors.

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Winslow to Undergo MRI

Portland Trail Blazers forward Justise Winslow is expected to undergo an MRI on his left ankle, league sources tell Bleacher Report. He was helped off the court late in the third quarter of Wednesday's loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder after he landed on the foot of Thunder forward Kenrich Williams.

Some officials within the Los Angeles Lakers are "very intrigued" by New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times.

Woike reported the Knicks are looking to get a first-round draft pick for Reddish but that "the asking price is expected to eventually dip" because he isn't featuring for New York at the moment.

Reddish hasn't played since a 121-100 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 3, and the Knicks' recent turnaround makes it tough to see his role increasing anytime soon. Following that Mavericks defeat, New York went on an eight-game winning streak.

If the Lakers want Reddish, then they probably just need to play the waiting game.

The 23-year-old is eligible for restricted free agency in the summer, and you wouldn't expect the Knicks to re-sign a player who's not even in the rotation right now. Sooner or later, the front office will have to settle for whatever's on the table because getting a second-round pick is better than nothing.

For Los Angeles, Woike's report symbolizes the predicament for general manager Rob Pelinka.

Especially in the wake of Anthony Davis' foot injury, which will sideline him for at least a month, the need to upgrade the roster became more pressing. But identifying a solution that makes the Lakers meaningfully better is easier said than done.

"The Lakers certainly have options, but under the circumstances, most of them involve overpaying with no real certainty that Davis will be whole enough to make a trade matter—at least for a playoff run this season," Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus wrote.

Reddish was a top-10 pick in 2019 for a reason. He was a 33.3 percent three-point shooter in his one season at Duke and had a boatload of defensive potential thanks to his 6'8" frame. Coming out of the draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman pegged him as a three-and-D starter in the NBA.

That's the kind of player Los Angeles needs, and he could be a contributor for years to come if he worked out.

Reddish is also a reclamation project, though, and that kind of midseason gamble is never ideal when a franchise is operating with the kind of short-term view the Lakers are.