NBA Northwest

The Denver Nuggets are looking to add a defensive wing to come off the bench ahead of the NBA's February 9 trade deadline, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.

"They want to get longer, more athletic, versatile, defensive-minded and bigger in that department. The Gordon trade with Orlando in March 2021 continues to pay big dividends, and adding another player with that sort of skill set would be the dream scenario here," Amick wrote.

The Nuggets already have one of the best offenses in the NBA. They rank second in the league with a 116.4 offensive rating, behind only the Boston Celtics (117.3).

MVP candidate Nikola Jokić is leading Denver offensively, averaging 25.7 points and 9.4 assists while shooting 61.9 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from deep. The Nuggets also have six other players averaging double digits in scoring—Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., Bones Hyland, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown.

While Jokić isn't the best defensively, the Nuggets have been even worse on that end of the court without him. The 22-12 club is 24th in defensive rating with a 114.1 overall mark, per NBA.com. That number is 112.1 with Jokić on the court, which would give the Nuggets a top-10 overall defensive rating, but it rises slightly to 114.2 with him absent.

Following the 2021-22 season, the Nuggets acquired Caldwell-Pope in a trade with the Washington Wizards and signed Brown away from the Brooklyn Nets in hopes of improving their defense.

Back in October, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters that one of his goals in 2022-23 was to mold his team into one of the top five defensive teams in the NBA.

"We understand that you can't be 15th in the NBA in defensive efficiency and be serious about winning at a high level," Malone said at the team's media day. "You look at the two teams in the NBA Finals; they were (No.) 1 and 2."

The Nuggets are far from being one of the best defensive teams in the league, though. If Denver wants to win an NBA title, it's going to have to improve defensively. The Celtics, for example. have the NBA's top offense and rank seventh defensively. They currently sit first in the East with a 26-10 record after reaching the Finals last season.

To their credit, the Nuggets are still second in the West, but if they can improve their frontcourt defense off the bench, they will take a big step forward in contending for an NBA title.

Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore reportedly have taken another step toward assuming ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx.

According to The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski and Shams Charania, Rodriguez and Lore exercised their option to purchase the next 20 percent of the franchises, which is a continuation of their three-step plan.

Rodriguez and Lore reached an agreement in 2021 to buy the teams in installments. They faced a Saturday deadline to inform majority owner Glen Taylor that they exercised the option, and now they have until March 15 to secure the next 20 percent. They will then have until Dec. 31, 2023, to purchase another 40 percent of the team.

If either of the next two payments are missed, Taylor will have the right to "nullify the succession plan" while retaining Lore and Rodriguez as limited partners, per Krawczynski and Charania. The duo reportedly has been in regular contact with Taylor, who acts as a mentor to them as he prepares to relinquish control of the Timberwolves, a team he's been the majority owner of since 1994.

For their part, Lore and Rodriguez have "privately expressed confidence to people within the organization, Taylor included, that everything is on track to be completed."

Krawczynski and Charania noted that Lore and Rodriguez have already undertaken more influence than limited partners usually do since they joined the ownership group last year, pointing to their roles in recruiting Tim Connelly away from the Denver Nuggets to become Minnesota's president of basketball operations. They also reportedly were consulted on the contract extension for Lynx head coach and president Cheryl Reeve.

The Timberwolves are in 11th place in the Western Conference with a 16-19 record. Minnesota will return to action on Friday against the Milwaukee Bucks (22-12). The Lynx finished the 2022 season with a 14-22 record and fell short of the playoffs.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert showed his holiday spirit Monday, gifting Target Center employees $50 each to thank them for their work:

https://twitter.com/Timberwolves/status/1605040043172978689

More than 450 employees, including ushers, security, concessions staff and more, also each received a signed card from Gobert, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Gobert is in his first season with the Timberwolves after an offseason trade from the Utah Jazz. The three-time All-Star has a history of helping people who work behind the scenes. In January, he gifted $50 and a card to employees at Utah's Vivint Arena. He also donated $200,000 to a relief fund for Vivint Arena employees in 2020 after the NBA season was suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even in a new location, Gobert's generosity has remained.

While he enjoyed a good run in his five years with the franchise, Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell doesn't believe his No. 45 jersey should be immortalized by the Utah Jazz.

"I don't think I did enough," he said in an interview with Andscape's Marc J. Spears. "I hold myself to a high standard. Now, other people may feel that it should. I'd be happy and forever grateful, honored and blessed for sure for that to happen. But I don't think I've done enough in five years to have my jersey up there with Karl [Malone], John [Stockton], Pistol Pete [Maravich] and Darrell Griffith. I got a long way in my career to go to continue to be better."

Perhaps Mitchell's career will come full circle and he'll return to Utah one day. Assuming he never plays another game for the Jazz, it's tough to find much wrong with his assessment.

The Jazz enjoyed plenty of regular season success with the partnership of Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, but they never advanced past the Western Conference semifinals. As a result, Mitchell doesn't have the team accolades that could catapult him into the franchise legend tier.

Kawhi Leonard, for example, was only with the Toronto Raptors for one year but could plausibly see his No. 2 jersey hanging in the rafters because he helped lead the Raptors to their first NBA title.

Because of his relatively limited time in Salt Lake City—at least within the context of retiring his jersey—Mitchell doesn't have the counting stats, either. His 8,234 points are eighth all time and he didn't crack the top 10 in assists, games played, total minutes or win shares, per Basketball Reference.

Seven players have had their numbers retired by the Jazz: Adrian Dantley, Pete Maravich, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Jeff Hornacek, Darrell Griffith and Mark Eaton. All seven left bigger legacies in Utah than Mitchell.

Malone and Stockton are the two best players in franchise history.

Hornacek didn't put up big numbers, nor was he ever an All-Star in Utah, but he did play a key role on the teams that reached the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.

Dantley was a six-time All-Star with the Jazz and ranks third in points.

Eaton led the NBA in blocks in four seasons and was a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a five-time All-Defensive honoree.

Griffith and Maravich have the fourth- and seventh-most points among Jazz players, and they would've achieved even more if their careers hadn't been adversely impacted by injuries.

Nobody has assumed the No. 45 jersey since Mitchell's trade to the Cavs, and it might be a while before anyone wears it since it isn't a common number. But it will nonetheless be there for the taking for the foreseeable future.

Throughout the early part of the 2022-23 season, the NBA MVP conversation has centered on players like Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Dončić.

It seemed like Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić was being left out of the discussion, but his performance on Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets reminded everyone why he was named MVP in each of the past two seasons.

Jokić had a monster triple-double with 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists to propel the Nuggets to a 119-115 win at Ball Arena. The 27-year-old grabbed 20 boards in the first half alone and shot 13-of-26 from the field in the victory. It was his second 40-point outing in his past three games.

NBA Twitter was blown away by Jokić's performance on Sunday:

jokic stats is crayo

— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) December 19, 2022

Jokic just had 40-27-10. He is very much alive for an MVP threepeat. 🤯 @SiriusXMNBA @bettornetwork

— Rick Kamla (@RickKamlaSports) December 19, 2022

Nikola Jokic put up historic numbers in the Nuggets win tonight.

40 PTS
27 REB
10 AST
2 STL

He's the first player to record 40+ PTS, 25+ REB, and 10+ AST in a game since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968. pic.twitter.com/JfKjl9Ngi6

— NBA (@NBA) December 19, 2022

Nikola Jokic finishes the night with

40 points
27 rebounds
10 assists
2 steals

Some good contributions from the role guys but the 2x MVP is carrying this Nuggets team right now.

— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) December 19, 2022

Nikola Jokic: 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season.

The Nuggets win, and needed everything Joker gave them.

— Mike Singer (@msinger) December 19, 2022

Nikola Jokic finishes with a 40-27-10 line.

Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player in NBA history to have as many points, rebounds and assists in a game. He did it four times. https://t.co/pHS258B7K4 pic.twitter.com/T06Fp88tty

— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 19, 2022

40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists for Nikola Jokic tonight. Anything is possible.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) December 19, 2022

Jokic is simply dominating

— KENNY BEECHAM (@KOT4Q) December 19, 2022

Jokic last 5 games:

40 PTS | 27 REB | 10 AST
25 PTS | 11 REB | 8 AST
43 PTS | 14 REB | 8 AST
31 PTS | 12 REB | 14 AST
33 PTS | 10 REB | 9 AST

Building a strong MVP case. pic.twitter.com/w3OXKPBbXo

— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 19, 2022

Really hope Nikola Jokić wins a third consecutive MVP. There was so much negativity surrounding his last two seasons and pure ignorance when the discussion turned into "advanced stats are stupid, watch the game" nonsense.

He's one of the most impactful bigs ever, full stop.

— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) December 19, 2022

Jokic might win his 3rd MVP in a row

— Guru (@DrGuru_) December 19, 2022

The Nuggets opened the month of December with three straight losses, leading many to question whether they can compete against the elite teams in the Western Conference. However, Denver has reeled off wins in four of its past five games, and Jokić has been a major reason why.

After a somewhat slow start to the season, the Serbian seems to have found a groove in recent weeks. During this month, he's averaging 29.6 points, 11.6 rebounds and 9.1 assists on 63.0 percent shooting from the field.

Jokić will look to keep up his dominance when the Nuggets (18-11) host the Memphis Grizzlies (19-10) in a marquee primetime matchup on Tuesday night.

Everyone knows Stephen Curry is the best shooter in NBA history, but Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard believes he is the second-best after passing the 18,000 point mark in Saturday's game against the Houston Rockets.

Lillard said, via Casey Holdahl of the team's website:

I always see stuff on social media where they talk about the greatest shooters of all-time and they always act like it's just crazy for people to mention me. I think for how many threes I've made, for how consistent I make them, the level of difficulty that I shoot threes with over years and years and years, I just think it's kind of crazy people don't mention me in those discussions.

Obviously I think Steph is the greatest ever, but I think after him, I don't see why I'm not clear-cut in that discussion, not just by makes, but how I shoot it, how I make tough ones all the time, how easy I shoot the ball. I'm looking forward to keep climbing that list so once I get up there in that top two, top three, I'm curious to see what people will say about me as a shooter at that point.

Lillard is certainly up there among some of the best shooters in league history. But saying he's the second-best shooter might be an overstatement, especially when considering the likes of Ray Allen, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Reggie Miller, Larry Bird and others.

That said, Lillard's impact is undeniable. In 18 games this season, he's averaging 28.3 points while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 39.8 percent from deep.

Malik Beasley took exception to Rudy Gobert taking an easy layup in the final seconds of Friday's game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz.

Speaking to reporters after the Timberwolves' 118-108 win, Beasley called Gobert's decision in that moment "disrespectful."

"Unwritten rule of basketball and I told him that," Beasley added.

There was a brief scrum on the court after the buzzer sounded, with Beasley having to be separated from Gobert.

Rudy Gobert, on the late dunk and subsequent scrum: “I’ve been taught to play basketball to the last second. For me, there was never any intent to disrespect anybody. These guys who stepped in front of me, they weren’t going to do anything anyway. … It kind of ruined my moment.” pic.twitter.com/WlOzLFjdcr

— tribjazz (@tribjazz) December 10, 2022

With time winding down in the game and Minnesota holding a 116-108 lead, Gobert was standing under the basket and called for the ball. Kyle Anderson passed it to him, and he took the easy points.

There was no one around Gobert and the shot clock was off.

This was his first game back in Utah since being traded to the Timberwolves in July. He had a dominant performance with 22 points and 13 rebounds in 37 minutes.

Gobert has always been a polarizing player in the NBA. He is a three-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, but there are elements to how he plays that have rubbed some people the wrong way.

There were rumors about tension between Gobert and Donovan Mitchell when they played together in Utah. He was also ejected from a game last week for tripping Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kenrich Williams.

Perhaps Gobert's desire to send a message to the Jazz front office that traded him compelled him to take the points.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a calf strain, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The forward was injured during Monday's game against the Washington Wizards, with Josh Robbins of The Athletic reporting Towns was unable to put any weight on his right leg. The team quickly ruled him out for the rest of the game.

According to Wojnarowski, Towns had scans on Tuesday to reveal the extent of the injury, although he is expected to return sometime in January.

Towns has played more power forward this season after the Timberwolves acquired three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert at center.

The result has been decreased numbers for Towns, averaging 20.8 points per game after scoring at least 24 per game in each of the last four years. His 8.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game would also be the worst of his career.

The 27-year-old has been productive in other ways, averaging 5.3 assists per game, and is a consistent offensive weapon with at least 20 points in 14 of 21 games this year. His only game in single digits was when he left early because of an injury on Monday.

It represents a significant loss for a squad that has struggled to gel this year, sitting 10th in the Western Conference with a 10-11 record.

Naz Reid and Kyle Anderson will see more minutes at the 4 with Towns unavailable, although the Timberwolves will need its top scorers Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell to step up offensively to overcome the loss of a three-time All-Star.

Gobert will also be under more pressure to control the paint defensively without Towns alongside him.

The Atlanta Hawks reportedly approached the Utah Jazz hoping to trade John Collins for Lauri Markkanen.

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported Wednesday that the Jazz rejected the offer, which "did not generate any traction."

It's not hard to see why the Jazz would reject such an offer. Markkanen has been one of the breakout players of the NBA's first month, averaging 22.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game to help spur the Jazz's surprising 12-7 start.

"I think it's been the overall game coming together,” Markkanen told Tony Jones of The Athletic. "Working on my overall game, working on where my spots are on the floor. I've just been trying to bring everything together and just keep working on the overall package. I think the important thing is not being satisfied. I have to know that there are a lot of things that I can keep improving. It's a process."

Collins, meanwhile, is in the midst of arguably his worst NBA season. His points per game have dropped for the third straight campaign, down from 21.6 in 2019-20 to 12.6 this season. He also has not developed into an elite rim protector the way the Hawks hoped and is shooting a career-low 26.9 percent from behind the arc.

The Hawks have made Collins a regular fixture on the trade market for years and haven't been able to find a taker to meet their asking price. Shopping him around now at the nadir of his value isn't going to lead to many fruitful conversations—especially if Atlanta management is seeking a player like Markkanen.

Collins is in just the second season of a five-year, $125 million deal. While he has a player option for the 2025-26 campaign, it's highly unlikely he'll turn down $26.6 million given the trajectory of his career.

If the Hawks want to trade Collins and recoup any value that will help them on the floor, they're going to have to wait and see if he turns his season around.

Utah Jazz shooting guard Malik Beasley and his wife, Montana Yao, announced the birth of their second child, daughter Mia Love Beasley, on Friday.

"11/11 and my wish came true," the Jazz star wrote on Instagram.

Their first child, son Makai Joseph Beasley, was born in March 2019.

Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post reported the couple, who were married in August 2020, reconciled earlier this year and had divorce proceedings dismissed in August.

Beasley, 25, was traded to the Jazz in July as part of the blockbuster deal sending center Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The 2016 first-round pick out of Florida State has averaged 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 threes and 1.1 assists across his first 16 appearances for Utah.

He's scored 48 points in three contests (16 PPG) since the birth of his daughter. In all, he's averaged 10.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 threes and 1.2 assists in 352 NBA games.

After his trade to Utah, the Atlanta native explained he was focused on making better decisions, saying his "main goal is to be way better off the court." He spent 78 days in jail following the 2020-21 season after pleading guilty to a threats of violence felony charge in February 2021.

"I was just tired of making the same mistakes that I've made before and I don't want to go through that anymore," Beasley told reporters in July. "I believe in second chances. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I feel like I can just do better in the world."

Next up for Beasley and the Jazz is a home clash with the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.