The NBA trade deadline is coming this week, so teams are now starting to make their moves to improve their squads. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the latest team to pull the trigger on a big trade as they acquired Caris LeVert from the struggling Indiana Pacers.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash stressed that the team plans to keep All-Star James Harden amid growing speculation about his future with the team.
And out West, the LA Clippers still don’t know if or when their All-Star duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will return from their respective injuries.
Read on below as SBOTOP lists down the biggest pieces of news from around the NBA as the trade deadline nears.
Cavs trade for guard Caris LeVert
The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired guard Caris LeVert in a trade with the Indiana Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports.
Aside from LeVert, the Cavs also get a 2022 second-round pick, while the Pacers get Ricky Rubio’s expiring contract, a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick and two second-round picks.
The Cavs were desperate to add reinforcements in the backcourt after both Collin Sexton and Rubio went down with season-ending knee injuries.
LeVert should give the Cavs, who are currently 32-21 and fighting for a top seed in the East, another capable backcourt scorer alongside first-time All-Star Darius Garland (19.8 points and 8.2 assists per game).
The 27-year-old LeVert is averaging 18.7 points per game this season and scored a season-high 42 points in his last game for the Pacers against the Chicago Bulls.
As for the Pacers, they may not be done making moves. All-Star Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are both expected to be involved in trade talks as the team tries to turn over a struggling roster that has gone just 19-35 this season.
Steve Nash says Nets not trading James Harden
Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash has made it clear the team does not plan to trade James Harden before Thursday’s trade deadline amid speculation about the star’s future.
“I’ve talked to James; he wants to be here,” Nash said. “He wants to be here long term as well, so I don’t think anything’s changed other than noise from the outside. James wants to be here, we’re building with James and we think we have the best chance to win with James. I don’t think anything’s changed on the inside, in our locker room, in our communication, it’s just all the noise from the [outside].”
Rumours have recently been circulating that Harden, a former NBA MVP, is unhappy with life in Brooklyn, both on and off the court. He is reportedly ‘frustrated’ by Kyrie Irving’s part-time status due to his not being vaccinated, as well as Nash’s coaching. He is also reportedly not enjoying living in Brooklyn as he did in Houston.
With Kevin Durant still out with a knee injury, Irving unable to play in home games, and Harden struggling with a strained hand, the Nets have gone on an eight-game losing streak and have dropped to the No 7 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Harden will become a free agent this summer after he declined a three-year, $161 million extension in the offseason. The Nets risk losing him for nothing if they do not trade him before the deadline, but it appears they are prepared to take such a risk to maximise their NBA 2022 odds of winning the title.
Clippers unsure of Kawhi, PG return this season
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank is still unsure whether George will be able to return this season.
George, who has been out since Dec. 22 due to a torn ligament in his right shooting elbow, will undergo an MRI at the end of the month to see how his elbow is progressing, but Frank said the MRI result alone won’t decide whether or not George will return.
“You don’t treat the MRI, you treat the player,” Frank said. “So when the MRI comes in, it’s not a ‘boom’ that all of a sudden is a ‘Eureka’ moment for what we do. I think it’s just part of the process.”
Frank also says he doesn’t know if Kawhi Leonard will be back this season as he continues to rehab after his torn ACL back in June.
“I think the best answer is we don’t know,” Frank said. “He grinds every single day. He works. His focus is on his rehab. … No one knows. He doesn’t know. But all you can do is, just every day, continue to control what you can control and see how he responds.”
Coach Ty Lue had made NBA 2022 news after he said the Clippers “know Kawhi’s probably not gonna come back,” but he walked back those comments.
“Hope is stronger than fear,” Lue said. “So I’m hoping that these two guys can come back. But you never know.”
The Clippers, who recently made a blockbuster trade with the Portland Trail Blazers to acquire wings Norman Powell and Robert Covington, are currently eighth in the West at 27-28.
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