Three things to Know: Light the Beam! Kings now fourth in West.

By Kurt HelinJan 12, 2023, 10:28 AM EST

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Three Things To Know is NBC’s five-days-a-week wrap-up of the night before in the NBA. Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA must-watch.

1) Light the Beam! Kings now fourth in West.

The Sacramento Kings are the four seed in the West.

Let that sink in for a moment. If the playoffs started today, the Sacramento Kings would host a first-round series. The long-struggling franchise — do we need to remind everyone again they have missed the playoffs for 16 consecutive years? — has come together this season around a couple of star players, a new coach, and a “light the beam” idea that could feel gimmicky in some places but everyone has bought into in Sacramento, from the fans through the locker room.

All showed in Wednesday’s win over the struggling Rockets (now losers of eight straight). Domantas Sabonis continues to look like an All-Star and finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. De'Aaron Fox scored nine in the fourth and finished with 24 points and nine assists. Veteran Trey Lyles came off the bench and scored 20.

Trey Lyles coming through with some clutch minutes 🙌 pic.twitter.com/lkfSqf0cxh

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 12, 2023

The Kings played with their food too long and let Houston hang around, but pulled away for the 135-115 win. And you know what a win means.

Another late night beam shot. 22-18. Another shot at going 5 games over .500 on Friday. pic.twitter.com/uS4OQD3FvL

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) January 12, 2023

Mike Brown has to be in any Coach of the Year conversation this season. It’s a very crowded discussion, but the veteran coach has everyone buying in, has built a top-three offense around the inside/outside duo of Sabonis and Fox, and gets enough defense some nights to get the win.

Kings management took hits in the media — including from me — for the trade that sent out Tyrese Haliburton and brought back Sabonis from Indiana. My primary criticism remains valid: Sacramento once again traded long-term for short-term. They gave up the best player in that trade three years from now to get a guy who could help more today.

Give the Kings credit — it worked. Sabonis and his steady, professional double-double nightly is a better fit today and what this team needed to make the playoffs. Fox needed more touches and space in the backcourt. The Kings weren’t thinking about building the best possible team in four or five years, they wanted guys who could get them to the playoffs now.

They found that mix. The Kings are not a playoff lock in the tight West — they are two games above the play-in and three out of falling out of the playoffs altogether — but they feel like it. This looks every bit like a playoff team.

Just as importantly, this is a fun team. This is the team Kings fans have long deserved, and they should savor it.

2) Kyle Kuzma drains game-winning 3 for Wizards, Zach LaVine goes for two

The Wizards were shorthanded — no Bradley Beal or Kristaps Porzingis — so when it was time for a game-winning shot, they got the ball in Kyle Kuzma’s hands.

The game against the Bulls was tied 97-97 with :22.5 remaining. Washington got the ball to Kuzma out top, ran a little time off the clock thinking last shot, waited for Taj Gibson to screen Alex Caruso, drove to his right along the three-point arc, then put up a jumper while fading to his right. Splash.

KYLE KUZMA FOR 3 😱

WIZARDS LEAD BY 3 WITH :05 TO GO

📲 https://t.co/1pomQZMAZK pic.twitter.com/BhXUDpAwzO

— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2023

This man is just SO CLUTCH!!!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BUJwHI3zSo

— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) January 12, 2023

That shot left 5.7 for the Bulls to do something. With DeMar DeRozan out (quad), they turned to Zach LaVine, who had 38 on the night. He got the ball, the defense swarmed and there was no clean look at a 3, so he drove and then put up a midrange two, much to the dismay of an open Nikola Vucevic.

Vuc's reaction to the final Bulls possession 😬 pic.twitter.com/d0PyqzwzG0

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 12, 2023

Here is how LaVine explained that shot, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.

“We were just trying to get a 3 off. And then when I went in to pull up, I think Delon Wright fouled me. My instinct was to go up and try to get a 3-point play,” LaVine said. “I was going for a pull-up when he fouled me. I shot it. They didn’t call it. And that’s how it is.”

Washington needed the win, and they are now within a game of the Bulls for the play-in out East. Kuzma finished with 21, Monte Morris added 17.

3) Dedmon gets one-game suspension for massage gun incident

The Miami Heat hoped the NBA league office would step in and suspend Dewayne Dedmon — launching a personal massage gun onto the court could hurt someone.

The league didn’t, so the Heat did — Miami suspended Dedmon one game for getting into an argument with coach Erik Spoelstra, then in storming past him toward the locker room Dedmon hit one of the team’s massage guns launching it onto the court. That got Dedmon ejected.

Dedmon threw a massage gun on the court after some heated words with Spo 😳 pic.twitter.com/yjJYB599HY

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 11, 2023

If the NBA league office had suspended Dedmon, the Heat would have saved money against the salary cap/luxury tax (and the Heat are pushing the tax line). Heck, the Heat might have pushed the league to suspend him a couple of games — Dedmon is out of the rotation anyway and the Heat would have saved more money.

The league didn’t, so the Heat did. For Dedmon, the result is the same, he sits out a game and loses some money. He’s a guy to watch, Miami will keep him around on the chance they can use his salary in a trade at the deadline, but if he’s around after Feb. 9 Dedmon is a potential buyout candidate. Especially after this.

Brad Stevens confirms Joe Mazzulla will return as Celtics coach

By Kurt HelinJun 1, 2023, 6:27 PM EDT

Despite the sting of losing to the No. 8 seed Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, don’t expect sweeping changes in Boston. Not to the Celtics’ coaching staff and not to the roster.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Steven made that clear in his end-of-season press conference. It starts with bringing back Joe Mazzulla, which was expected after he was given a multi-year contract extension during the season. Stevens was asked if Mazzulla was the right person to lead the Celtics after an uneven season (hat tip NBC Sports Boston).

“Yeah, I think he is,” Stevens said. “I thought he did a really good job with this group. Everybody’s going to overreact to the best players and coaches after every game. That’s always the way it is. We know that going in, so we have to be able to judge things on the whole.

“He’s a terrific leader, he’ll only get better at anything that he can learn from this year, because he’s constantly trying to learn. And he’s accountable. Those leadership qualities are hard to find. I know they’re easy to talk about, but when you can show all those through the expectations and the microscope that he was under, that’s hard to do. Our players, our staff, everybody around him believe(s) in him, and we’ve got to do our best to support him going forward.”

The expectation is that veteran coaches — ideally at least one person with NBA head coaching experience — will be added to Mazzulla’s staff to help with the maturation process of the young coach. But he will be back.

Stevens also was asked about Jaylen Brown, who is eligible for a supermax extension of around $295 million over five years (his making All-NBA made him eligible for 35% of the salary cap). Stevens was limited in what he could say due to (archaic) tampering rules.

"I'm not allowed to talk about the contract details, let alone the extension… but I can say without a doubt we want Jaylen to be here."

Brad Stevens on Jaylen Brown's contract extension pic.twitter.com/skLAyXEoAZ

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 1, 2023

“I’ve had nothing but great conversations with Jaylen, but we can’t talk about all that stuff,” Stevens said. “I’m not allowed to talk about the contract details, let alone the extension because it’s not of that time yet right now. His window is between July 1 and October or whatever it is.

“But I can say without a doubt that we want Jaylen to be here. He’s a big part of us. We believe in him. I’m thankful for him. I’m really thankful for when those guys (Jayson Tatum and Brown) have success, they come back to work. And when they get beat, they own it and come back to work. I know that’s what they’re about, and that’s hard to find. Kinda like what I talked about with leadership earlier. Those qualities aren’t for everyone. Jaylen had a great year, All-NBA year and he’s a big part of us moving forward in our eyes.”

Despite Brown’s struggles against the Heat, it’s a no-brainer for the Celtics to retain the 26-year-old All-NBA player entering his prime. They should offer him the full supermax, and his public comments made it sound like that’s what he expects. Mess around in negotiations and try to get Brown to take less than the full max and then the threat of Brown leaving becomes more real. Only one player has ever rejected a supermax extension: Kawhi Leonard when he was trying to force a trade. (If Boston puts the full 35% max on the table and Brown rejects it, then the game changes and they have to trade him this summer, but don’t bet on him walking away from more than a quarter of a billion dollars).

There will be changes on the Celtics roster, but expect Brown and Mazzulla to return.

Purdue’s Zach Edey headlines list of players to withdraw from NBA Draft

By Kurt HelinJun 1, 2023, 5:32 PM EDT

Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The winner of the 2023 John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award is headed back for another year in the college ranks. And it’s the right move.

Zach Edey headlines the list of 181 players who withdrew their names from the NBA Draft, and he is headed back to Purdue for another season. He confirmed it on Twitter in his own way.

RUN IT BACK🔄 pic.twitter.com/oJfQTbX6SP

— zach (@zach_edey) June 1, 2023

Edey averaged 22.3 points a game on 60.7% shooting and 12.9 rebounds a game last season for the Boilermakers, and his measurements at the NBA Draft Combine were hard to ignore — 7-3¼ barefoot, with a 7-10½ wingspan. However, his lack of elite athleticism, questions about his ability to defend in space, and an old-school, near-the-basket game are not natural fits with where the NBA is trending. He was expected to get picked in the back half of the second round (meaning no guaranteed contract), if at all.

With that, he made the right decision to return to college. If the Toronto native can arrange a new student visa that allows him to better capitalize on NIL money, a return to Purdue is likely the right financial decision as well.

Here are some of the biggest names among the 181 who withdrew from the NBA Draft (via Jonathan Givony of ESPN), with all projected to go after No. 40 or later:

Trey Alexander (Creighton)
Reece Beekman (Virginia)
Adem Bona (UCLA)
Jalen Bridges (Baylor)
Tristan da Silva (Colorado)
Zach Edey (Purdue)
Coleman Hawkins (Illinois)
DaRon Holmes (Dayton)
Josiah-Jordan James (Tennessee)
Dillon Jones (Weber State)
Judah Mintz (Syracuse)
Dillon Mitchell (Texas)
Terrence Shannon (Illinois)

The NBA Draft takes place on June 22.

Lakers rumored to prefer sign-and-trade options for D’Angelo Russell, eye Fred VanVleet

By Kurt HelinJun 1, 2023, 1:52 PM EDT

Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images

D'Angelo Russell helped the Lakers turn their season around after the All-Star break. He provided needed shot creation at the point, averaged 17.4 points per game while shooting 41.4% from 3, and generally fit nicely on the court. However, his limitations — particularly on the defensive end — were exposed in the playoffs, especially by the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals.

Russell is an unrestricted free agent and the Lakers are faced with choices: Re-sign him, let him walk, or maybe find a sign-and-trade that can bring back a player who is a better fit for a Lakers roster with championship aspirations next season. The Lakers would ideally like the sign-and-trade option, suggests Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

My read on the situation is that the Lakers would prefer to use D’Angelo Russell in a sign-and-trade, but I’m not sure the market is there.

Landing Kyrie Irving for Russell is shaping up to be a pipe dream, especially with Dallas unlikely to help Los Angeles out. Fred VanVleet, a Klutch client, looms as a possibility, but adding him would require Toronto to agree to terms with Russell (or take on the Beasley and Bamba contracts).

Forget about a Kyrie Irving sign-and-trade with the Lakers for Russell, that appears off the table (unless the Lakers add so many sweeteners Dallas can’t say no… and didn’t the Lakers just gut their roster for a guard in Russell Westbrook?)

Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times adds this.

Fred VanVleet’s name has been mentioned since even before he joined Klutch Sports, though the Lakers could again be in a position where they’d be forced to part with one or more draft picks in a deal. Russell’s postseason struggles were probably a little overblown after a disastrous Western Conference finals, but expect the Lakers to look at upgrade options. There’s still a chance Russell returns on a good deal and the Lakers actually get the continuity they’ve spoken about building.

VanVleet has a $22.8 million player option he is widely expected to opt out of seeking more money and years. He averaged 19.3 points and 7.2 assists a game last season, is a respectable defender, and is a former All-Star and NBA champion.

The questions start with, what are Toronto’s plans? They have yet to hire a new head coach after firing Nick Nurse, and there isn’t a sense of whether they will try to re-sign VanVleet, extend Pascal Siakam and run it back, break the entire thing up, or travel a middle ground reworking the roster. Dreams of a sign-and-trade only work if the Raptors play along. And, if the Raptors come around to consider a sign-and-trade for VanVleet, do they want Russell in that deal? Plus, the Lakers likely have to throw in the last first-round pick they can trade to get Toronto even to consider it.

All of which is to say, it’s a long shot VanVleet is a Laker. Not impossible, but not likely.

The smart money is on the Lakers re-signing Russell and considering trade options at next February’s deadline or next summer, if they feel it’s time to move on.

Celtics’ Payton Pritchard reportedly wants a trade this summer

By Kurt HelinJun 1, 2023, 12:42 PM EDT

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Payton Pritchard saw his role as a reserve guard with the Celtics shrink this season, which may have had less to do with the changeover to Joe Mazzulla as coach and more to do with the addition of Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon.

Either way, Pritchard doesn’t like it and wants to be traded this offseason, reports Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic (in a must-read breakdown of the Celtics’ season and where they ultimately fell short.

With the new onerous CBA rules looming after next season, the front office will likely have to decide in the next 12 months whether it can afford its expensive veteran depth. Payton Pritchard has made it clear he hopes to be traded this summer, according to multiple team sources, so will the Celtics move him if they trade one of their core guards?

Pritchard may not get his wish for the financial reasons mentioned by King and Weiss — Boston has some hard decisions to make coming up. For next season, the Celtics are already $4 million into the luxury tax with 12 people on the roster, and that is without re-signing Grant Williams (if they can) or thinking about the super-max contract Jaylen Brown is about to sign that will kick in for the 2024-25 season. With the draconian threat of the second “lead” tax apron looming in a year, the Celtics must trim salary. One way to do that this summer is to trade one of Marcus Smart, Derrick White or Malcolm Brogdon, which is what is widely expected to happen around the league.

With one of those three gone, minutes open up for Pritchard, who has a team option for $4 million next season. That’s a great value contract the Celtics likely want to keep.

Meaning Pritchard may not get his wish to be sent out of Boston, but if he ends up staying, he should see more run next season.

1) Light the Beam! Kings now fourth in West.

2) Kyle Kuzma drains game-winning 3 for Wizards, Zach LaVine goes for two

3) Dedmon gets one-game suspension for massage gun incident

Here is more on the Celtics

Check out more on the NBA Draft

Check out more on the Lakers

Check out more on the Celtics