Executives around the NBA continue to monitor Nets forwards Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, who were considered trade candidates during the offseason, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Rival executives believe Brooklyn will seek the equivalent of two first-round picks for Finney-Smith, though they hope that cost will drop closer to the deadline, according to Scotto, who adds that some execs who spoke to HoopsHype think the Nets would want a protected first-round pick for O’Neale. Finney-Smith still has multiple years left on his contract, while O’Neale is on an expiring deal. Teams ar ..read more

As teams battled for a spot in the quarterfinals of the NBA’s first in-season tournament, point differential served as an important tiebreaker. It was used in several instances to determine the winner of a group, a conference’s wild card team, and the seeding of certain quarterfinalists. That sort of tiebreaker is necessary in the round robin stage of an event that sees 30 teams playing just four games, since there will be many identical records and several instances in which head-to-head record won’t suffice. However, a number of players and coaches around the NBA weren’t thrilled by the late ..read more

The NBA in-season tournament will reach the quarterfinal stage next week and the eight qualifiers and their seeds were finalized on Tuesday. The 22 teams that failed to advance had two holes in their schedules that needed to be filled. Those matchups were determined late Tuesday evening, with each team receiving a home and away contest, NBA Communications tweets. The newly-scheduled games will take place next Wednesday (December 6) and Friday (Dec. 8). The Cavaliers and Magic, who missed the quarterfinals despite their 3-1 tournament records, will face each other in Cleveland on Wednesday. Cle ..read more

1:53pm: While Charania’s reporting (detailed below) suggested that testing on Johnson’s wrist didn’t show a fracture, the Hawks stated in a press release that the forward has been diagnosed with a left distal radius fracture. However, the team’s announcement doesn’t necessarily contradict the recovery timeline provided by Charania. According to the Hawks, Johnson will be reevaluated in about three or four weeks. 11:30am: Hawks forward Jalen Johnson is expected to miss four-to-six weeks due to a left wrist injury, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Atlanta will ha ..read more

Hawks forward Jalen Johnson will undergo further testing on his left wrist, which he injured during Saturday’s win in Washington, writes Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Johnson left the game about two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter after taking a hard hit from Kyle Kuzma as he attempted to complete a fast-break dunk (video link). Johnson fell into the stanchion and landed on his left hand, which he immediately grabbed in obvious pain. After taking his free throws, he exited to the locker room and didn’t return. The Hawks haven’t provided any updates on the inju ..read more

The term “poison pill” doesn’t actually show up in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, but it’s used colloquially to refer to a provision in the CBA that affects players who recently signed rookie scale contract extensions. As we explain in our glossary entry, the so-called poison pill provision applies when a player who signed a rookie scale extension is traded before the extension takes effect. In that scenario, the player’s incoming value for the receiving team for matching purposes is determined by averaging his current-year salary and the salaries in each year of his new extension ..read more

The Hawks might play their in-season tournament opener in Detroit on Tuesday without their top player. Trae Young is listed as questionable for personal reasons, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. His wife just gave birth, Williams notes (via Twitter ..read more

The Hawks will be without two of their rookies for an extended period, according to a team press release. Guard Kobe Bufkin underwent an X-ray and medical review on his fracture left thumb on Saturday. His return to play timeline is 8-to-10 weeks from the date of injury, which occurred on Nov. 2. Bufkin was injured during a practice with the team’s G League club, the College Park Skyhawks. Bufkin, a guard out of Michigan, was the first player taken outside the lottery this June. The 15th overall pick has made two cameo appearances with the Hawks. Forward Mouhamed Gueye, who has missed the last ..read more

With guard Tyler Herro out for at least the next two weeks, the Heat want to see a more aggressive version of veteran guard Kyle Lowry, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. Lowry has been effective for the Heat, averaging 6.9 points, 5.3 assists and 4,9 rebounds while leading the team in deflections and drawn charges. However, he’s only taking 5.8 shots per game, his lowest output since the 2008/09 season. “At this point in his career, it’s all about winning,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s what I really love about Kyle. He’ll sacrifice points, he’ll sacrifice stats. He does so ..read more

As the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline approaches, it’s worth keeping in mind which teams hold traded player exceptions that could come in handy to grease the wheels on an in-season deal. As we explain in our glossary, a traded player exception allows a team to take on salary in a trade without sending out any salary in return. The amount of the exception (plus $250K) is the amount of salary the team is permitted to take back without salary-matching – either in a single deal or in multiple trades – for one year. [RELATED: Salary-Matching Rules For Trades During 2023/24 Season] For instance, a team w ..read more