Basketball Intelligence for 2/8/24
Early trades, Wemby's DPOY potential, Point Zion, red-hot Cavs, and more
**Announcement! Former NBA referee Ronnie Nunn will be hosting a podcast AMA (“ask me anything”) with BI next week. Leave any questions you have about NBA refereeing or the rules as a comment below or email us at info@basketballintelligence.net. We’ll pick the best queries and ask him directly!**
EARLY TRADE NEWS
NBA Trade Grades
Kevin Pelton, ESPN+
Five things to know about new Celtics big man Xavier Tillman
Conor Ryan, Boston Globe
Sources: Sixers acquire guard Buddy Hield from Pacers
Tim Bontemps, ESPN
Detroit Pistons address 2 major weaknesses in 2 deals as NBA trade deadline looms
Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press
Timberwolves trade Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton and draft pick for Detroit's Monte Morris
Chris Hine, Star Tribune
LEAGUEWIDE STORIES
NBA Teams Are Once Again Scoring At Record Levels, Extending A Trend
Jack Magruder, Forbes
NBA Star Power Index: Kawhi Leonard improves MVP chances, LeBron James won't commit to Lakers
Brad Botkin, CBS Sports
New ESPN, Fox, WBD streaming venture won’t solve much — at least not yet
Andrew Marchand, The Athletic
TEAM STORIES
UTA: Kris Dunn has found a home with the Utah Jazz
Calvin Barrett, The J Notes
SAS: He won't win it. But should Victor Wembanyama be Defensive Player of the Year?
Mike Shearer, Basketball Poetry
SAC: ‘Unacceptable’: Jaden Ivey scores career-high 37 as Detroit Pistons stun Sacramento Kings
Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee
The Kings have made some marginal improvements in an effort to get better defensively this season, but they are still getting torched from the 3-point line. Going into Wednesday’s game, the Kings were 29th in the NBA in opponent’s 3-point shooting percentage (.395). They ranked 30th in that category at 42.4% over the past 15 games.