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With Media Days of all 30 teams done and training camp underway, the NBA is well and truly back. In fact, at the time of the writing, the first preseason (Melbourne United vs Philadelphia 76ers) is under 24 hours away.
And with the NBA comes its numerous storylines, however, the one dominating the past week is the Jimmy Butler saga in Minnesota. The 4-time All-Star's trade request has jolted the stability of the Timberwolves franchise. Not to mention, putting coach & President of Basketball Operations Tom Thibodeau's job in question.
As we continue moving forward, with more possible interactions between players and the media, expect no shortage of storylines. So as we inch closer to the weekend, and the first NBA action in close to four months, let's take a look at all of the buzz from Thursday:
#1 Mavs' Harrison Barnes "out for a while"; Lakers' Lonzo Ball cleared for contact
Led by their young and super talented backcourt - Dennis Smith Jr. and Luka Doncic, the future looks bright for the Dallas Mavericks but those expectations received a small short-term hit. The franchise's 2016 free-agency acquisition Harrison Barnes suffered a hamstring injury in practice on Thursday.
He might not be the franchise cornerstone like he would have possibly expected when he signed his 4-year $94 million dollar deal in 2016, but as a wing, he is integral to the team's future. By missing all of the preseason, he will most likely not travel with the team to China where they play a couple of games against the 76ers as part of the league's Global Games initiative.
On the flip side, there was some good news further West. The Los Angeles Lakers' No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 Draft, Lonzo Ball, was cleared for contact. Not just that, he even participated in the team's camp routine on Day 3.
It's no surprise that the Lakers are being cautious with his return. Lakers' coach Luke Walton earlier told ESPN that the team would be starting Rajon Rondo at the beginning of the season to allow Ball a healthy recovery from his left knee surgery (an arthroscopic procedure he underwent in July).
#2 Reports suggest T-Wolves' asking price for Jimmy Butler too high
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported together on Thursday that Minnesota's asking price in exchange for Jimmy Butler seems to be far too high.
The team has been in talks with multiple teams, according to earlier reports but The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor had something interesting on his appearance on The Bill Simmons' Podcast:
"One of the things that I've heard from a handful of sources is that—with the Sixers for example—the initial offer that they made, the counter-offer was like, 'We need Ben Simmons in a deal.'"
According to the ESPN report, it's the asking price that is holding up any possible deal that the Timberwolves could make. Woj tweeted a small excerpt from the report:
Now, the last line in the tweet is interesting because according to Woj, from a couple of days ago, Tom Thibodeau did try to convince Butler in a second meeting but the All-Star forward remained unchanged on his request for a trade.
Let's give Thibodeau the benefit of doubt and consider the fact that he and his team might really not be happy with what they are receiving in return. Unfortunately, he has no option otherwise his job will be on the line. In a report published last Sunday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported once again that the T-Wolves franchise owner wants Butler traded as soon as possible.
#3 Eric Gordon doesn't see future with Rockets beyond 2020
Eric Gordon, a huge part of the Houston Rockets' success last season, doesn't see being part of the team from 2020. Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen reported that the team did have talks of an extension with the shooting guard but talks didn't go far.
"There was extension talks, but nothing really serious," Gordon said. "I would much rather be here as long as I can. Everything will work out. I'll be here another two years. We'll see what happens. I'll see how the next two years go, but I would definitely like to be here the rest of my career."
#4 DeMarcus Cousins opens up about free agency in a Players' Tribune article
On Thursday, DeMarcus Cousins via a Players' Tribune article opened up about his free-agency process and how he ended up on the Golden State Warriors.
Here a few interesting tidbits from that:
- The Pelicans didn't get in touch with him once free agency began.
- It was DeMarcus that got in touch with Bob Myers, President of Basketball Operations for the Warriors.
- On a call with Steve Kerr, the coach finished their conversation by saying "You’re gonna make me have to actually coach this year, huh?"
- Despite speaking with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Kevin Durant, Boogie didn't speak with Klay Thompson right up until training camp.
You can read the full article here.
Guess the Lakers players!
