RealGM Basketball Wiretap

21 January 2025

• NBA Reschedules 9 Games Postponed By Wildfires, Ice; Clippers To Play 6 Games In 9 Nights

  The NBA rescheduled nine games featuring nine teams postponed by wildfires and ice from last week.

  The new schedule features the Clippers, who had four games affected by the new schedule, playing six games in nine days.

  "We've just got to take it game by game. We can't fall victim to the schedule. It was out of the NBA's hands, what happened to our city, and so we understand that. So we just got to lock in, take it game by game and then just go from there," said Ty Lue.

  The Spurs matchup against the Lakers, originally scheduled for 1/11, is still TBD.

  The new dates for rescheduled games are below:

  Hornet at Lakers: 2/19

  Rockets at Hawks: 1/28

  Hornets at Clippers: 3/16

  Bulls at Clippers: 1/20

  Wizards at Jazz: 3/19

  Jazz at Lakers: 2/10

  Wizards at Clippers: 1/23

  Wizards at Blazers: 3/17

  Clippers at Jazz: 2/13

• Wizards Won't Trade Jonas Valanciunas For Late 2nd Rounders

  The Washington Wizards will consider trading Jonas Valanciunas at the trade deadline, but sources tell The Athletic they will be picky. The Wizards will not simply trade Valanciunas for late second round picks and will want a draft pick or a combination of picks that would appreciably help their rebuild.

  If the Wizards were required to take back a highly paid player on a multi-year contract, they will seek extra pick compensation. Some believe two second rounders could be the maximum return the Wizards receive for trading Valanciunas.

  The Wizards signed Valanciunas to a three-year, $30.3 million contract in July. The final year of his contract is non-guaranteed. Part of the reasoning in signing Valanciunas was to protect Alex Sarr from the physical rigors of defending other centers.

  In a career-low 19.9 minutes per game entering Monday, he had averaged 11.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

• Yves Missi, Alex Sarr Named NBA's Rookies Of December

  Yves Missi and Alex Sarr have been named the NBA's Rookies of the Month for December.

  Missi averaged 11.2 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.6 block for the New Orleans Pelicans. Missi had a PER of 16.8 in December.

  Sarr averaged 13.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the Washington Wizards. Sarr had a PER of 14.5 in December.

• Lakers To Continue Pursuit Of Jonas Valanciunas; Gabe Vincent Available In Trade Talks

  The Los Angeles Lakers will continue to try to trade for Jonas Valanciunas or another backup center, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

  Valanciunas is expected to be available for a second-round pick.

  The Lakers are also open to trading Gabe Vincent.

  The Lakers most recently acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and are looking to keep Finney-Smith on a long-term deal.

• Jonas Valanciunas Focused On Helping Wizards, Not Trade Rumors

  Washington Wizards center Jonas Valanciunas knows his name is in trade rumors. Valanciunas has also been around long enough that he's not worried about those rumors. The veteran center is staying focused on helping the young Wizards improve.

  "What can happen in the future, maybe tomorrow, maybe even today, I don't know," Valanciunas said about the possibility of being dealt. "If it happens, it happens. It's a young team still putting the pieces together. Everything can happen."

  Valanciunas signed a three-year, $30.3 million deal with Washington as part of a sign-and-trade last summer. This season, the 7-footer makes just $9.9 million, which makes him an easy-to-trade-for player ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. However, Valanciunas is focused on Washington instead of worrying about trades.

  "They wanted me, they showed some trust in me, so I'm happy here," Valanciunas said about the Wizards. "You've got to stay patient. But we get better, we practice, and the young guys drive me to get better, too. I feel the kick in my ass to practice and get better and work on my skills. So, I'm taking advantage from that."

• Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown, Jordan Clarkson Expected To Be Available For Second-Round Pick

  Several veterans, including Jonas Valanciunas, Malcolm Brogdon, Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, and Jordan Clarkson are expected to be available for a second-round pick, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

  The Lakers were expected to pursue Valanciunas and Brogdon before acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith on Sunday.

  The Nets are reportedly seeking multiple first-round picks in exchange for Cam Johnson.

  The Bulls are also hoping to get a first-round pick for Nikola Vucevic, though that market is not materializing.

• Wizards Believed To Be 'Eager' To Trade Kyle Kuzma By Deadline

  The Washington Wizards are believed to be "eager" to trade Kyle Kuzma ahead of the February 6th trade deadline. The Wizards could have traded Kuzma to the Dallas Mavericks at last season's deadline, but he preferred to remain with the franchise. The Wizards are considered unlikely to repeat the same tactic.

  Kuzma, who is represented by Austin Brown, is signed through the 26-27 season on a four-year, $90 million deal that descends annually and drops to $19.4 million as an expiring.

  Kuzma is averaging 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.5 minutes over 12 games in his 29-year-old season.

• Wizards Commit To D.C. With $800M Capital One Arena Renovation

  Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Wizards and Washington Wizards, will undergo an $800 million renovation to keep the teams in the building through their 49-50 seasons. The project is supposed to take place primarily over the next three summers, with an idealized end date of summer 2028 before the Wizards' and Capitals' 2027-28 seasons.

  The announcement comes just over a year since Ted Leonsis and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin announced plans to build an arena in Alexandria, Virginia. Wizards' parent company, Monumental, is pledging $285 million toward the arena renovation. Washington D.C. will pay $515 million.

  "I'd say, from a league standpoint, this is the ideal public-private partnership," Silver said. "This is nearly a billion-dollar investment, for their benefit and the community's benefit. I think these are the modern-day town halls, these arenas. What's happening now in these entertainment palaces, they are full, seemingly, every night of the year... this will easily put you in the top tier (of busiest NBA arenas) when this renovation is completed."

• NBA Francises Collectively Worth $138 Billion, Average Of $4.6 Billion

  The Golden State Warriors have become the second most valuable franchise in sports at $9.14 billion, trailing only the Dallas Cowboys at $10.3 billion. The Warriors are joined in the top-3 by the New York Knicks at $8.3 billion and the Los Angeles Lakers at $8.07 billion.

  Collectively, the NBA's 30 teams are worth $138 billion, including real estate held by owners and team-related businesses, such as WNBA franchises. The average NBA franchise valuation is now $4.6 billion and has a value-to-revenue multiple of 11.9, which is above all other leagues.

  The NBA has a significant drop off from the Lakers at No. 3 as they are worth 42 percent more than the Brooklyn Nets at No. 4 with a valuation of $5.7 billion.

  The 30 NBA teams generated an estimated $11.6 billion last year, or $387 million per club. The concert business has been a major revenue driver for NBA teams who own and control their own arena. The Lakers and Boston Celtics are the only teams in the top-10 who do not control their arena.

  2024 NBA Valuation Rankings
  1. Warriors: $9.14 billion
  2. Knicks: $8.3 billion
  3. Lakers: $8.07 billion
  4. Nets: $5.7 billion
  5. Clippers: $5.66 billion
  6. Celtics: $5.66 billion
  7. Bulls: $5.56 billion
  8. Heat: $5 billion
  9. Rockets: $4.77 billion
  10. Raptors: $4.66 billion
  11. Sixers: $4.57 billion
  12. Mavericks: $4.46 billion
  13. Suns: $4.32 billion
  14. Kings: $4.11 billion
  15. Hawks: $4.07 billion
  16. Nuggets: $4.06 billion
  17. Wizards: $3.98 billion
  18. Cavaliers: $3.95 billion
  19. Bucks: $3.91 billion
  20. Spurs: $3.79 billion
  21. Pacers: $3.74 billion
  22. Jazz: $3.67 billion
  23. Blazers: $3.6 billion
  24. Thunder: $3.55 billion
  25. Magic: $3.46 billion
  26. Pistons: $3.45 billion
  27. Hornets: $3.39 billion
  28. Timberwolves: $3.29 billion
  29. Pelicans: $3.09 billion
  30. Grizzlies: $3.06 billion

• Wizards Focused On Development Despite Mounting Losses

  The Washington Wizards knew this would be a tough season, but they didn't expect it to be quite this tough. However, the Wizards aren't changing course. They remain focused on the development of their young players.

  "We are immersed in a very difficult stretch right now," Wizards general manager Will Dawkins told The Athletic.

  "But we remain committed to the long-term sustainability of the organization," Dawkins added. "Our staff and players have continued to work, and are growing. We will continue to stack the positive developmental gains and, at the end of the season, put proper perspective on the totality of the year. Don't worry about the whole thing right now; at the end of the year, let's look up and see what we accomplished. They're getting better, and they're still working, and that's the main thing. What we signed up for is hard, and we know it."

  Before the season started, Dawkins said that Washington was still in the "deconstruction" phase of their rebuild. That means continue to move veteran players on and off the roster in various deals. With veterans coming and going this season, the Wizards have stayed true to the goal of getting their young players as much experience as possible.

  2023 first-round pick Bilal Coulibaly and 2024 first-round picks Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George make up Washington's young core. All four players are averaging between 26.2 and 34.8 minutes per game.