Report: Mavericks have no interest in Irving sign-and-trade with Lakers that brings back Russell

Celebrities At The Los Angeles Lakers Game
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Kyrie Irving may say he doesn’t want to be in the middle of NBA free agency speculation, but when he sits courtside in Los Angeles at a couple of Lakers’ playoff games he has to know that will spark talk.

LeBron James has sent his not-so-subtle message he wants more help, and the rumors he’s open to a reunion with Irving are nothing new.

All of that has driven a lot of speculation in recent weeks of a Lakers’ sign-and-trade to reunite the core of the Cavaliers’ 2016 title team. While Irving is a free agent, the Lakers have made clear they intend to re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura as restricted free agents, making signing Irving directly off the table (unless he wants to take a massive pay cut and play for the midlevel exception, which his actions indicate he does not). If Irving comes to the Lakers, it’s on a sign-and-trade.

Then who goes back to Dallas in this trade? The speculation centered on free agent D'Angelo Russell signing and trading to play next to Luka Dončić. However, the Mavericks have no interest in that, reports Marc Stein in his latest newsletter.

A popular topic all week, in the wake of Denver sweeping the Lakers out of the Western Conference finals, was the notion that L.A. could emerge as a potential sign-and-trade destination for Dallas’ free agent-to-be Kyrie Irving.

While we await a clear indication about the Lakers’ intentions there, with no verifiable signal to date that pursuing Irving is among their offseason priorities, league sources say that the Mavericks would have no interest in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers that features D’Angelo Russell as the primary Dallas-bound player. All indications are that the Mavericks remain intent on re-signing Irving

While one could argue that is early off-season posturing by the Mavericks, don’t bet on it. They want Irving back.

While the questions of fit between Dončić and Irving remain, when the Mavericks traded for Irving they committed to this path, both financially and on the court. If Irving walks in free agency Dallas has no way to replace him, and they are better off with him than without him. Irving is a much better player than Russell and with Dončić on the roster the Mavericks are a win-now team. Their preference is clear.

As for Irving, he wants to get paid (remember he opted in with the Nets rather than leave to play for less, then pushed for a trade when Brooklyn would not give him the extension he wanted). Dallas can pay him more than anyone, and beyond that is more willing to pay than most. There is logic for both Dallas and Irving to work out a new contract and, if this marriage doesn’t work out, trade him down the line. The only questions are money, years, and does Irving really want to be in Dallas (he has said he does).

League sources have told NBC Sports that the Lakers’ front office’s primary focus is not on Irving. While the Lakers could clear as much as almost $30 million in cap space, free agency is not the path the Lakers appear to be walking. Re-signing Reaves and Hachimura and putting them next to LeBron and Anthony Davis — both of the Lakers stars make more than $40 million next season — plus rounding out the roster has the Lakers quickly pushing above the cap and into the tax, and the second tax apron is within sight. The Lakers are more likely to make moves like picking up the $16.5 million team option on Malik Beasley and trading him and or other players for the shot creation and shooting they want. A Russell sign-and-trade is certainly in play, or they could bring him back, just not on anything near the max Russell likely wants (more likely a deal starting around $20 million a year). Russell was good for the Lakers in the regular season and had a 31-point playoff game to close out the Grizzlies, plus a 21-point game against the Warriors, he just was in a bad matchup against Denver.

Irving to the Lakers is a long shot. But if LeBron wants it, and Irving wants it, nothing is off the table.

Kyrie Irving ‘in no rush to make a decision’ on free agency, doesn’t like speculation

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If there is one thing the NBA does better than any other league in America, it’s generating buzz with speculation about player movement (occasionally followed by blockbuster deals, but most of the time not). Kyrie Irving is in the middle of this year’s off-season storm as one of the best free agents on the market this season — sitting courtside at Lakers games certainly helps fuel that.

Irving doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want to be in the middle of that storm for the next month to six weeks.

Irving told fans on Instagram Live Wednesday he plans to take his time with making a decision, and not to believe everything you read about him.

“I’m a free agent this summer, but I’m in no rush to make a decision. When [media personalities] speak on my name and they’re talking about potential teams that I’m going to, can y’all please, respectfully, please stop paying attention to that?”

Irving also asked people to chill on the speculation about his future destination — and stop filling his mentions with it.

“Stop mentioning me on Twitters. All your fan bases stop mentioning me right now, please. It is still the Western Conference the Eastern Conference Finals, or excuse me Denver’s gone to the Finals you know we’re still waiting for Boston in Miami. Can y’all please leave me the f*** out of this? Please. Can I just be with my family in peace? Y’all got people at my dinner table discussing with my free agency plans are. Y’all think is funny s*** but please stop that. I actually like having peace of mind when I met the crib, alright. I see all your ats, all y’all s mentions. Okay? I said I see all your stuff y’all be saying…

“Please, all your fan bases, like stop mentioning me just for like the next month or two or three [until] whenever I make my decision.”

It’s easy to appreciate Irving not wanting to be the center of the speculation storm, but this time of year he will have to get an umbrella and just try to stay out of the worst of it. Only three fan bases fully engaged in the games and 27 others talking about what offseason moves their team should make.

It would be ironic to speculate about Irving’s future here, but I will say most league sources NBC Sports has spoken with expect him to ultimately re-sign with the Mavericks (how many years and for how much money is up for debate). However, that sentiment is almost always followed by some version of “Irving can be unpredictable” and a shrug.

Three top-10 draft picks that may be available in a trade

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Don’t even pretend the No. 1 pick is available. It’s not. As in, even if you offer the current or one of the most recent MVPs for the chance to select Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs will hang up on the call. Fans may not grasp how high teams are on the young French star, but it is ridiculously high.

However, other lottery picks are available via trade. Not all these deals will get done, the prices will be high, but expect a trade — or trades — within the top 10 picks this season. 

Here are three where there are early rumors and it is worth watching.

No. 3, Portland Trail Blazers

While a minority of the Trail Blazer fan base is gaming out Damian Lillard trades — to the annoyance of Lillard — that is absolutely not the plan in the Portland front office. The goal is to make a bold trade to bring in another star, someone to put next to Lillard, and compete deep into the playoffs next season.

How they get that star is a trade package centered around the No. 3 pick, plus some combination of Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons, and if need be Shaedon Sharpe (the Trail Blazers don’t want to trade him, but if the return is good enough they will not have a choice). The pick is the star of that deal because it will be Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller (the early conventional wisdom is the Hornets at No. 2 like Miller as a better fit next to LaMelo Ball). If Henderson is available, he has some real fans around the league, and maybe a team is ready to make a bold move for the star.

What the Trail Blazers want back is an All-Star level player at least, not future picks and role players. Lillard is coming off an All-NBA season, but at age 32 his window isn’t going to be open that long. If a team with a star is looking to shake up their roster, this could be the move.

No. 4, Houston Rockets

Houston’s ownership and front office are ready to take the next step out of rebuilding, which is what is behind the James Harden talk (which is real, he may not end up with the Rockets but league sources tell NBC Sports this is more than just smoke).

With the No. 4 pick, the Rockets — or whatever team has the pick — will very likely be in position to draft Amen Thompson, maybe the best pure athlete in this draft and a player with an incredibly high ceiling. However, he’s also raw, needs time to develop and there are questions (starting with nobody is quite sure how to rate the players coming out of Overtime Elite because, unlike college or the G-League, it’s an unknown competition level). He doesn’t fit the Rockets’ timeline.

But he could fit another team, one willing to send Houston the kind of veteran depth and star power Harden reportedly says he wants in the team he plays for next season. If there’s a team looking to pivot and bring in a player who could develop into a foundational piece, the Rockets will listen.

No. 10, Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks nakedly tanked the final week of the season to ensure they could keep their top-10 protected pick (otherwise it was going to the Knicks). The lottery gods helped out and Dallas gets to keep its pick.

Mavericks management wanted that pick badly because, with a depleted roster, it was maybe their most valuable tool to help bring in some veteran help around Luka Dončić. The buzz around the league is the Mavericks will try to trade this pick to add pieces around Dončić (and maybe Kyrie Irving, if they re-sign him). What they can get for the No. 10 pick is up for debate, but like the two teams above them on this list, the Mavericks are not looking for future picks or young players, they want guys who can help now.

 

San Antonio Spurs win NBA Draft Lottery, will be home to Wembanyama

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The San Antonio Spurs have made two No.1 picks in franchise history. First in 1987 when they selected The Admiral David Robinson. Ten years later 1997 they drafted Tim Duncan with the No.1 pick. From there the franchise formed a dynasty that went on to win five championships and make an indelible mark on the NBA.

Now the Spurs could be on top of the NBA for the next decade after winning the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, and with it the right to draft projected franchise cornerstone player Victor Wembanyama with that top pick.

“This is a player’s league, the players are what drives us all, so I can imagine [how this impacts the franchise],” Peter J. Holt, the Spurs managing partner, said when asked if he could imagine how much this would impact the franchise, reminding everyone they did draft Robinson and Duncan. 

This is also a win for the French star Wembanyama, who goes to a stable organization known for developing talent — and one with a deep connection to France thanks to Spurs legend Tony Parker. Plus, there is no better coach for his first couple of years in the NBA than Gregg Popovich.

Here is how the NBA Draft Lottery shook out.

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Portland Trail Blazers
4. Houston Rockets
5. Detroit Pistons
6. Orlando Magic
7. Indiana Pacers
8. Washington Wizards
9. Utah Jazz
10. Dallas Mavericks
11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder
13. Toronto Raptors
14. New Orleans Pelicans

Some other notes from how the NBA Draft lottery broke down.

• The Detroit Pistons were the biggest losers of the day, falling as far as they possibly could with the worst regular season record in the league to the No. 5 pick.

• The Charlotte Hornets will pick second, where most teams have either guard Scoot Henderson or wing Brandon Miller next on their boards. With the Hornets already having a dynamic ball handler at the point in LaMelo Ball, will they select Miller and let Henderson slide to Portland (where he would play next to Damian Lillard)?

• Portland may not make that No.3 pick. League sources have told NBC Sports the Trail Blazers want to make a big splash trade to get another star next to Lillard. Packaging the No.3 pick with some of their other young talent such as Shaedon Sharpe and/or Anfernee Simons could land that kind of player.

• Everything from pick No.6 to 14 followed form, which matched how they finished the season.

• The Dallas Mavericks’ late-season tanking was rewarded, nobody leapfrogged them so they get to keep their first-round pick (it was owed to the Knicks but top-10 protected). Don’t be surprised if the Mavericks attempt to trade the pick to bring in more immediate help around Luka Dončić.

• The Chicago Bulls did not jump up into the top four, so their pick at No. 12 belongs to the Orlando Magic (part of the Nikola Vucevic trade).

• Here is what the rest of the first round looks like

15. Atlanta Hawks
16. Utah Jazz (via Minnesota)
17. Los Angeles Lakers
18. Miami Heat
19. Houston Rockets (via Los Angeles Clippers)
20. Golden State Warriors
21. Brooklyn Nets (via Phoenix)
22. Brooklyn Nets
23. Portland Trail Blazers (via New York)
24. Sacramento Kings
25. Memphis Grizzlies
26. Indiana Pacers (via Cleveland)
27. Charlotte Hornets (via Denver)
28. Utah Jazz (via Philadelphia)
29. Indiana Pacers (via Boston)
30. Los Angeles Clippers (via Milwaukee)

• The NBA Draft occurs on June 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

NBA Draft Lottery odds, what winning could mean for each team

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“10 days before knowing my future team. It’s really a crazy thing”

That was what presumptive No.1 pick Victor Wembanyama Tweeted out 10 days ago. Tuesday night the NBA Draft Lottery will give him his answer, and the fortunes of multiple franchises will be changed forever.

For all the scouting, planning, and development that goes into NBA roster building, sometimes it’s still better to be lucky than good— and this year that luck could set a franchise up for a decade. That is whether they land first and get Wembanyama, second and pick Scoot Henderson, or land farther down the board but get one of a number of players with All-NBA potential but some development work to do.

Here are the lottery odds for all 14 teams involved, and what landing Wembanyama would mean to them.

 
Pistons small icon Detroit Pistons: No.1 14%, top four 52.1%. The Pistons were hoping to compete for a play-in spot last season before Cade Cunningham’s leg injury required surgery and ended his season. This is already a solid young core with former No.1 pick Cunningham plus Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart — add a top two pick to this roster and the Pistons could be contenders in a handful of years. Even if they end up lower, they will be adding another high level player to a core than can grow into something special.

 
Rockets small icon Houston Rockets: No.1 14%, top four 52.1%. The Rockets are another team about to add a high pick to a young core with potential. A Wembanyama and Alperen Şengün front court could be a force with passing and shooting (for that matter, a Scoot Henderson and Jalen Green pairing would be interesting, that’s a lot of athleticism attacking the rim). Whatever happens in the lottery does not change the Rockets’ plans to use their around $60 million in cap space and win more now, which is going to mean chasing veteran free agents, starting with James Harden.

 
Spurs small icon San Antonio Spurs: No.1 14%, top four 52.1%. Winning the Wembanyama sweepstakes would feel a lot like when the Spurs won the lottery to land Tim Duncan and created a dynasty (or, maybe like when they won and landed David Robinson, which was the true first domino of those dynastic years). There have been whispers that Gregg Popovich would stick around and coach another year or two if the Spurs do land the top pick. San Antonio would roll out a starting lineup with Wembanyama, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan that would be interesting (they wouldn’t win a lot of game that first year, but they would be interesting).

 
Hornets small icon Charlotte Hornets: No.1 12.5%, top four 48.1%. LaMelo Ball with Wembanyama would create arguably the greatest social media/young fan favorite team in the league, and also one that could start winning games quickly as the roster is filled out around them. With the veterans already on this roster (Terry Rozier, the likely untradable Gordon Hayward, P.J. Washington) the Hornets could compete for a play-in spot next season.

 
Blazers small icon Portland Trail Blazers: No.1 10.5%, top four 42.1%. Let’s be positive and not go down the road of Portland’s previous top picks. The Trail Blazers remain intent on making a big trade this summer — not to send Damian Lillard out (like so many fans of other teams seem to expect), but rather to bring another star in next to Lillard to try and win now. Landing Wembanyama would likely mean they trade center Jusuf Nurkic for another quality player and start Wembanyama next to a re-signed Jerami Grant in the front court with Lillard and some added depth on the wing and backcourt. That sounds like a playoff team in year one.

 
Magic small icon Orlando Magic: No.1 9%, top four 37.2%. The Orlando Magic have won the NBA Draft Lottery in consecutive years before, 1992 and 1993, which led to them drafting Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway. Last year the Magic landed the No.1 pick and selected Paolo Banchero, who went on to win Rookie of the Year. Add Wembanyama to Banchero, Franz Wagner, a now solid point guard in Markelle Fultz plus young stars like Wendell Carter Jr. and this is the best young core in the game (the same might be true if the land the No.2 pick and bring in Scoot Henderson). Also, if he can stay healthy, a frontcourt of Jonathan Isaac and Wembanyama would be a defensive juggernaut.

 
Pacers small icon Indiana Pacers: No.1 6.8%, top four 29.4%. The Pacers would instantly have one of the best and most interesting young cores in the league: Myles Turner at center, Wembanyama at the four (creating a defensive wall up front), with the very good Tyrese Haliburton running the show at the point and a mix of Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Buddy Hield on the wing. With Rick Carlisle as coach this is a playoff team in year one (they were on their way to that last season until Haliburton got injured) that could build into much, much more.

 
Wizards small icon Washington Wizards: No.1 6.7%, top four 29%. Whoever gets hired as the new GM in Washington would instantly look a lot smarter if Wembanyama is on the roster. If he is, do they re-sign Kristaps Porzingis ($36 million player option) and let coach Wes Unseld play around with a two-big lineup? They likely bring back Kyle Kuzma to create a lineup of a point guard to be named, then Bradley Beal, Kuzma, Wembanyama and Porzingis — that looks like the playoff team ownership wants. If that group can just stay healthy.

 
Jazz small icon Utah Jazz: No.1 4.5%, top four 20.3%. Lauri Markkanen and Wembanyama would instantly create one of the longest, most versatile, and most interesting front courts with Walker Kessler likely at center and those two at the 3/4 in whatever order you wish. While the playoffs would be a year one expectation, there would still need to be a lot of building out of the roster around that front line for the long term. The advantage is Danny Ainge and the Utah front office still have a mountain of draft picks from the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades to use/trade to put all the puzzle pieces together.

 
Mavericks small icon Dallas Mavericks: No.1 3%, top four 13.9%. The bigger concern in the Dallas front office is a team leap frogging them and pushing the Mavericks down to the No.11 pick, in which case the Knicks get their pick as a remnant of the Porzingis trade. Dallas nakedly tanked at the end of the season to get into the top 10. Should they win the lottery things instantly look a lot better for the Mavericks, who will have found their star to go next to Luka Dončić (no matter what happens with the Kyrie Irving free agency). A Dončić and Wembanyama pairing might be the most entertaining duo in the league from Day 1.

 
Bulls small icon Chicago Bulls: No.1 1.8%, top four 8.5%. If the Bulls do not get lucky and land that 8.5% chance to jump into the top four, then this pick goes to the Orlando Magic as part of the Nikola Vucevic trade. If the Bulls do get that lucky and jump to the top spot, they will land the franchise cornerstone player they have not had since Derrick Rose and the thing this roster desperately needs. Considering the size of the Chicago market and the Bulls’ fan base, you know there are a few people in the league office rooting for the Bulls to get lucky.

 
Thunder small icon Oklahoma City Thunder: No.1 1.7%, top four 8%. If the lottery gods smile on OKC they could create an NBA dynasty in the Midwest. The Thunder already have All-NBA First Team guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, secondary shot creator Josh Giddey, promising big man Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren (who sat out last season injured but was the No.2 pick last year for a reason) — add Wembanyama to that group and the potential is off the charts. Plus GM/president Sam Presti has a truckload of first-round picks in future years to round out the roster.

 
Raptors small icon Toronto Raptors: No.1 1%, top four 4.8%. It’s a crazy longshot, but add Wembanyama (or Henderson) to a roster with the length and athleticism of Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, (plus whoever they re-sign from Jakob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr., all free agents) and you have a playoff team in the short term that could be a real threat in the East in a couple of years. Some new coach is instantly going to look very smart if they win the lottery.

 
Pelicans small icon New Orleans Pelicans: No.1 0.5%, top four 2.4%. It’s a wild longshot but it’s fun to dream of what a Zion Williamson and Wembanyama frontcourt would look like (if it could stay healthy). Pair that with Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Herb Jones and there would be a dangerous and entertaining team in the Big Easy (frankly, there is an entertaining and dangerous team there now if they can just all stay healthy and on the court together for a stretch).