The Philadelphia 76ers aren’t even the best tankers in their own division these days.
After the Sixers boosted their record to 5-28 with a win over the Cavs, the worst team in the Atlantic — and the entire NBA, for that matter — is undoubtedly the 5-32 New York Knicks. The Knicks have now lost 12 straight, and dealt away both Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday in a deal aimed solely at cap relief (Smith has a $6.5 million player option for next season).
In other words, the league’s worst team is only getting worse. So with franchise centerpiece Carmelo Anthony nursing a sore knee, it’s no surprise what the franchise wants him to do moving forward this season:
Sit.
Carmelo Anthony has been resisting idea of resting that sore knee, but Knicks have been encouraging him to sit, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 6, 2015
It’s a logical conclusion for Phil Jackson and the New York front office, of course. They’ve invested $123 million over five years into Anthony, and 2014-15 is already a lost season. With the team poised to have significant cap space this summer to add players after Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani come off the books, the primary concern for the Knicks is gearing up for next season and beyond.
While Anthony has resisted the idea of resting, losing both Smith and Shumpert — two of his closest allies on the current roster — might very well reshape his thinking.
After all, even with Anthony playing in 30 of the team’s 37 games, the Knicks are already doing the unthinkable in outtanking the Sixers. There’s little to gain and much to lose, including both the long-term health of Anthony’s knee and potentially a spot or two in June’s NBA Draft.
So if it wasn’t clear before, Monday’s trade should crystallize it:
The tank is on in New York.
KAWHI LEONARD NEARS RETURN FOR SAN ANTONIO
The Spurs have yet to really look like themselves this season, but they might finally be ready to make their annual push toward title contention.
Star forward Kawhi Leonard is likely to return within two weeks from his recent hand injury, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Leonard has been recovering from a torn ligament in his shooting hand and is expected to resume light basketball activities this week, sources said.
Doctors have seen progress in the lessening of his inflammation, and the belief is he’ll regain full strength in the hand with no long-term limitations or issues, sources said.
Leonard, who was NBA Finals MVP last season and is averaging 15.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season, might be the most indispensable player on the San Antonio roster. His defensive length and transition skills have been almost impossible for the Spurs to replace, as evidenced by their 4-7 record since Leonard tore a ligament in his hand.
The Spurs are now 21-14 and in possession of the No. 7 seed. But in the tightly-bunched West, that puts them only 4.5 games back of No. 3 Memphis and first place in the Southwest.
Combine that with a soft schedule this week (Pistons and Wolves are on the docket) and Leonard’s looming return, and the Spurs may soon find themselves right back in the mix, yet again.
OTHER NEWS FROM AROUND THE NBA
The Lakers wanted in on the Dion Waiters trade talks with Cleveland before he moved to Oklahoma City in the three-way deal involving the Knicks.
One problem, though: Los Angeles had little to offer. From ESPN‘s Ramona Shelburne:
Lakers were among teams that had tried to get Waiters. Cle wasn’t looking for just salary relief tho & Shump more valuable than Sacre — Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) January 6, 2015
The Cavs are known to want a defensive-minded big, but the seven-foot Sacre — averaging 3.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 14 minutes/game on a bad Lakers team — doesn’t exactly fit the bill.
And when compared to Shumpert, who remains a promising young wing defender, the value proposition just wasn’t close for Cleveland.
As far as the Lakers go, it’s a legitimate concern moving forward. With their ability to offer first-round draft picks limited by the pick of their own (a valuable one) still owed to Phoenix from the 2012 Steve Nash deal and their most talented young prospect (Julius Randle) sidelined with a season-ending leg injury, the Lakers don’t have the types of assets most teams crave when trading desired players.
They do have some cap flexibility, of course, but whether they can successfully use that in July will come down to whether talented players will voluntarily sign up to play alongside Kobe Bryant — something that remains very much in question following Dwight Howard’s exit.
The good news could be their play on the floor. The Lakers have won three of their past eight games — and of the five losses, three were very competitive against Western Conference contenders in Memphis, Portland and Dallas. Should that level of play continue, they could very well find some of their young players blossoming into potential trade assets.
In the meantime, though, Robert Sacre isn’t going to cut it.
Guards Kyle Lowry and James Harden were the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month for December, so it’s probably safe to assume that both will be All-Stars.
But it’s not for sure. With veteran guards Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant likely to win fan-voted starting slots due to career legacies, both Lowry and Harden will probably need to be voted in as reserves by the league’s coaches.
It seems nearly certain for each to be voted in. But if Lowry isn’t, Dwane Casey — his coach in Toronto — is laying down the law. From TSN‘s Josh Lewenberg:
Casey: “I hope our fans get out and vote… And if the coaches don’t do it I’m probably going to get into a physical fight with those guys”
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) January 6, 2015
It shouldn’t be necessary, but Lowry undoubtedly appreciates the sentiment.
Ben DuBose is a veteran sports reporter who has followed the Houston Rockets and the NBA since Hakeem Olajuwon was Akeem Olajuwon. He writes for both SheridanHoops and ClutchFans, an independent Rockets blog. You can follow him on Twitter.