Jordan Clarkson reportedly drawing trade interest from Grizzlies, Bucks, Kings

By Kurt HelinSep 6, 2022, 12:25 PM EDT

Cooper Neill/NBAE via Getty Images

It’s no secret that the Utah Jazz have entered full rebuild mode with Rudy Gobert now in Minnesota and Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland. It’s not quite a fire sale in Salt Lake City, but more of an “everything must go” clearance sale of veterans such as Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson.

Clarkson is drawing the most interest of that group, reports Brett Siegel of Sports Illustrated.

Clarkson has generated the most interest thus far with the Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings and Toronto Raptors said to be teams with initial interest following Rudy Gobert’s departure earlier this offseason, sources told Fastbreak.

Of the players the Jazz have available, Clarkson has the most clearly defined role — sixth man scorer off the bench — and with that is the easiest to plug him into a new team. Clarkson is a volume scorer, but can create his own shot and when he is efficient with his scoring he brings Sixth Man of the Year value (he was not that efficient last season). His value decreases in the postseason because of his defensive struggles.

The other reason Clarkson is drawing the most interest? He has the lowest salary of the guys the Jazz are looking to move at $13.3 million (he has a player option for $14.3 million next season, both reasonable numbers considering his value as a scorer).

The Jazz have been fielding calls on all their available players, league sources told NBC Sports, although no deal appears close. There have been reports of the Lakers having an interest in Bogdanovic, but it would be difficult for the Lakers to match his $19.6 million contract (unless you get into a multi-player deal that sends out Russell Westbrook, but then the Lakers would need to move both of their tradable first-round picks, and they have been hesitant to do so in any deal that does not move them to contender status this season).

Look for Danny Ainge and the Jazz to make trades just before or during training camp, and up through the trade deadline. Utah is not done dealing, and Clarkson may be the first to be moved.

List of 34 NBA players expected to take part in EuroBasket next month

By Kurt HelinAug 19, 2022, 10:00 AM EDT

Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images

Already in the tune-up games, Luka Doncic seems to have developed a running hook shot, while Giannis Antetokounmpo and his brothers are dominating for Greece.

There will be a lot of NBA talent playing in EuroBasket — 34 NBA players are currently set to play for their teams in the European championships next month. Thanks to Johnny Askounis at EuroHoops, we have a list of them now.

Here are the NBA players currently scheduled to play in EuroBasket:

Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Jusuf Nurkic (Portland Trail Blazers)
Croatia:
Bojan Bogdanovic (Utah Jazz)
Dario Saric (Phoenix Suns)
Ivica Zubac (Los Angeles Clippers)
Czech Republic:
Vit Krejci (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Finland:
Lauri Markkanen (Cleveland Cavaliers)
France:
Evan Fournier (New York Knicks)
Rudy Gobert (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Theo Maledon (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Georgia:
Goga Bitadze (Indiana Pacers)
Sandro Mamukelashvili (Milwaukee Bucks)
Germany:
Daniel Theis (Indiana Pacers)
Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic)
Greece:
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Thanasis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)
Tyler Dorsey (Dallas Mavericks)
Israel:
Deni Avdija (Washington Wizards)
Italy:
Simone Fontecchio (Utah Jazz)
Danilo Gallinari (Boston Celtics)
Lithuania:
Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings)
Jonas Valanciunas (New Orleans Pelicans)
Montenegro:
Marko Simonovic (Chicago Bulls)
Serbia:
Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)
Slovenia:
Vlatko Cancar (Denver Nuggets)
Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)
Goran Dragic (Chicago Bulls)
Spain:
Usman Garuba (Houston Rockets)
Juancho Hernangomez (Toronto Raptors)
Willy Hernangomez (New Orleans Pelicans)
Turkey:
Furkan Korkmaz (Philadelphia Sixers)
Cedi Osman (Cleveland Cavaliers)
Alperen Sengun (Houston Rockets)
Ukraine:
Alex Len (Sacramento Kings)
Svi Mykhailiuk (Toronto Raptors)

The Milwaukee Bucks have the most players in the tournament with three, led by the Antetokounmpo brothers.

Kent Bazemore agrees to one-year deal with Sacramento Kings

By Kurt HelinAug 7, 2022, 10:25 PM EDT

Jed Jacobsohn/NBAE via Getty Images

The win-now Kings — or, at least the “we’re making the playoffs this season” Kings — have chosen to use their last roster spot on another veteran who can give them minutes over the course of a long season.

Sacramento agreed to bring back former King and 10-year veteran Kent Bazemore, a story broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic and confirmed by Bazemore.

Free agent forward Kent Bazemore has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sacramento Kings, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 7, 2022

OOOOOOHHHHHHHH BABBBYYYYY! Sacramentooooo! Y’all held me down last time around! Will be a fun ride this season! #SacTown ⚡️⚡️@SacramentoKings

— Kenny Baze (@24Bazemore) August 7, 2022

This is undoubtedly for the veteran minimum, and we will find out in the next 48 hours if it is fully or partially guaranteed.

Bazemore was a veteran leader on a young Kings team for part of the 2019-20 season. Last season he signed with the Lakers (instead of the Warriors) as a switchable 3&D wing. However, shot around 30% from 3 for much of the season and started to lose minutes to Avery Bradley (a Frank Vogel favorite). Then eventually Malik Monk and Austin Reeves proved to be better wing options and Bazemore was out of the rotation.

In Sacramento he can play some at the three behind Harrison Barnes, plus some two (although new coach Mike Brown will have a lot of wing and shooting options this season). Bazemore played for Brown in Golden State, and he should provide depth for a Kings team that is all in on ending its 16-year playoff drought.

Banchero, Holmgren top 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year odds

By Kurt HelinAug 3, 2022, 10:58 AM EDT

Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images

After watching him at the Las Vegas Summer League, it’s easy to walk away thinking that No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero will win the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He showed off the skills, and the Magic will put the ball in his hands and ask him to create.

But the last No. 1 overall pick to win Rookie of the Year was Ben Simmons, and only three of the previous 10 ROYs were the top pick (Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins were the other two). There’s a genuine chance that someone else is going to jump up and grab that trophy.

Who? From our partners at Point Bet, here are the odds for the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year (the top 10 players):

Paolo Banchero (Magic) +350
Chet Holmgren (Thunder) +375
Jaden Ivey (Pistons) +550
Jabari Smith (Rockets) +650
Keegan Murray (Kings) +700
Bennedict Mathurin (Pacers) +1000
Shaeden Sharpe (Trail Blazers) +1800
Dyson Daniels (Pelicans) +1800
Johnny Davis (Wizards) +2500
Ousmane Dieng (Thunder) +3000

Some thoughts on that list:

• As noted above, Banchero deserves to have the lowest odds. Watching him in Las Vegas, he has the build and skills of a quality NBA player walking in the door to Magic training camp, and things should only improve from there. He is absolutely going to be the guy to beat for this award.

• Chet Holmgren impressed in Las Vegas and could win this award — he had Josh Giddey showed some pick-and-roll chemistry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes everyone look better, and he’s going to have a real defensive impact and some highlight blocks. Not sure if it’s enough to win it all, but he has a chance.

• My bet would be on Keegan Murray — he is just a guy who knows how to play the game. He showed an impressive shot in Las Vegas, was calm under pressure, and it’s easy to imagine him running the break with De'Aaron Fox or pealing off a Domantas Sabonis dribble hand-off and making a play in the halfcourt. He’s going to get real run on a team thinking playoffs, and he could surprise and win this thing.

• I like Jabari Smith, but not to win this award as a rookie. Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. will have the ball in their hands in Houston and that duo are not the playmakers they will become yet, Smith may not get the touches.

• I like Jaden Ivey’s fit next to Cade Cunningham in Detroit, but playing with another guard who should have the ball in his hands more hurts his chances at this award.

Sacramento Kings sign Matthew Dellavedova to one-year contract

By Kurt HelinJul 30, 2022, 10:00 AM EDT

Morgan Hancock/Getty Images

Matthew Dellavedova is back in the NBA.

He spent last season in Australia playing for Melbourne United, but after working out for teams in Las Vegas during Summer League, the Kings decided to bring Dellavedova back stateside.

Welcome to Sactown, @matthewdelly! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JnZ6g4Z0Dl

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 29, 2022

This is a partially guaranteed one-year contract at the veteran minimum ($2.6 million), reports Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.

Dellavedova, who will turn 32 before next season starts, played eight NBA seasons — his best ones were under new Kings’ coach Mike Brown in Cleveland back during the second LeBron James era.

The pesky defense and scrappy play of a healthy Dellavedova — he was limited to 13 games his last NBA season — could help the Kings. That said, it will not be easy for him to get on the court. The Kings start De'Aaron Fox at the point with Davion Mitchell as his backup (then Dellavedova), while at the two the Kings will rotate Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter and Terence Davis.

But with the Kings stated goal of making the postseason and ending the team’s 16-year playoff drought, using that third point guard spot on a player who can help at points, and is not just there to develop, could pay off during the grind of the 82-game NBA season.

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