NBA Notebook: Danny Ainge succeeding with Jazz after Celtics retirement

When Danny Ainge arrived in Boston in June to watch the NBA Finals, having surprisingly accepted a role as CEO of the Utah Jazz months earlier, he watched a Celtics starting lineup entirely drafted or signed by him fall to the Warriors.

Acquiring Marcus Smart (No. 6 overall, 2014), Jaylen Brown (No. 3, 2016), Jayson Tatum (No. 3, 2017), Robert Williams III (No. 27, 2018) and Al Horford (signed July 1, 2016) arguably marked his greatest legacy as the team's general manager for 18 years if they go on to lead the Celtics to a championship, as they almost did last season. That resumé already includes the team's trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen that redeemed the franchise and secured its 2008 title. Almost one decade later, he defied convention by trading back from the No. 1 overall pick, acquiring another future one from Philadelphia, and still selecting the best player in the draft. 

“We’ll always have a great relationship,” Tatum said on Friday. “I’m very thankful for him. Essentially took a chance on a 19-year-old kid and drafted me and made my dream come true. I’ll always be thankful for that, regardless of wherever I’m at, wherever he’s at. I’ll always remember him in that way."

With such staggering achievements in the rearview, it begs the question two years later why Ainge will attend Saturday's game between the Jazz and Celtics, the first meeting between the only two teams he's known as an executive, wearing Utah gear rather than continuing to help lead Boston into the future?

When Ainge and Brad Stevens arrived alongside team governor Wyc Grousbeck for a retirement ceremony that also announced Stevens' ascension to head coach, Grousbeck emphasized a seat remains empty courtside for Ainge to remain present around the team into the future. Less than one year later, Ryan Smith, Ainge's friend who purchased the Jazz in 2020, hired him to work in a key, albeit adjusted role alongside GM Justin Zanik, affirming many unanswered questions that remain almost two years after Ainge left Boston. 

Ainge teased retirement in the preceding years, especially after suffering a 2019 heart attack in Milwaukee during the closing days of that season, his second after surviving one at 50 years old in 2009. A growing staff including his son Austin, assistants Mike Zarren and Dave Lewin remained to assist Stevens' ascension to president, a surprising move given his success as head coach from 2013-2021, including seven straight postseason appearances. As Grousbeck described it, he approached Stevens about the idea in the closing months of the 2021 season after Ainge signaled he might step away around March. Stevens was hesitant at first, then buying into his ability to impact the organization from the top. He grew tired through the condensed seasons during the COVID-19 pandemic, and even saw diminishing returns from his own coaching. The team needed new voices. 

"That's a good question," Ainge said in 2021 when asked why he couldn't remain with the Celtics. "I just needed a break, Boston has moved on, they have three capable people in Brad Stevens and Austin Ainge and Mike Zarren who can run the organization by themselves, very capable people who have got great experience in the business. I just felt the organization was in great hands moving forward." 

That move proved correct, Stevens quickly traded Kemba Walker, Ainge's final marquee signing who struggled through 2021 with injuries for Al Horford while sacrificing a first-round pick, something Ainge struggled to do in recent seasons despite accumulating many. Horford returned to form with Boston immediately on the floor, and helped them build a new identity by meshing with Williams III in large lineups. Off the court, his steady leadership went over popularly in the locker room while Horford expressed his gratefulness for the second chance. Walker no longer plays for an NBA team two seasons later. The Celtics also let Evan Fournier go, Ainge's deadline addition, to New York for four years, $73 million, a deal that hasn't aged well for the Knicks, who reportedly aimed to move it multiple times since.  

Stevens' trade for Josh Richardson utilized the Gordon Hayward trade exception Ainge received when the star forward departed for Charlotte, and his signing of Dennis Schröder and Enes Freedom rounded out the team's offseason, along with hiring Ime Udoka, a coach of the year candidate in his first season. The group stumbled out of the gate and Stevens corrected roster imbalances at the deadline by dealing rights to two future first-rounders, allowed due to the timing of the Horford deal, to San Antonio for Derrick White in a surprise splash. White is now an everyday Celtics starter. 

Boston also traded Romeo Langford in the deal, before sending Aaron Nesmith to Indiana in last summer's deal for Malcolm Brogdon, which also saw the Celtics send out a first-round pick. That aggressiveness to take advantage of a core that can win now became Stevens' most important departure from Ainge, while Stevens acknowledged the 2028 first-round pick swap being the kind of move that keeps you up at night during a much less certain time for Celtics contention. It was hard to imagine Ainge doing it. It led to a championship window the team has in place now. 

"That's a really hard decision," Stevens said in 2022. "First-round picks are really valuable, but getting a guy for 3.5 years on a great contract that is a perfect fit next to your best players is valuable too ... it's not without its risk, that's part of it. I'm looking forward to having Derrick and we think Derrick will be a really good player here, and again a really good player around our best players. There's going to be a cost associated with that, and that's what it was." 

Utah lost to the Mavericks in the first round that spring, setting up uncertainty around stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, who later admitted fatigue for the core in their final season together. Head coach Quin Snyder departed and Ainge looked back to Boston, hiring Udoka's assistant Will Hardy, a long-time Gregg Popovich assistant who drew rave reviews for the work he did with the Celtics in year one. The Jazz also interviewed another Celtics assistant behind the bench named Joe Mazzulla, a relative unknown at that time who didn't win the job, but reportedly received an offer to join Hardy in Utah that Boston moved to block. Roughly three months later, the Celtics named Mazzulla their interim coach after suspending Udoka for the season. An emotional Stevens affirmed the Celtics' vetting process in hiring Udoka, who reportedly engaged in an improper workplace relationship.

Ainge stuck to his methods after hiring Hardy, who likely would've become Boston's head coach, pressing the Timberwolves for as many first-round picks as he could receive after they lost a difficult first-round series to Memphis. Minnesota traded 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 firsts, a 2026 pick swap and 2022 first-round selection Walker Kessler alongside Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley and Justin Vanderbilt. The return shocked the league immediately and its value only improved, the Wolves losing Karl-Anthony Towns to injury in November, struggling to integrate Gobert and falling to the middle of the league only 1.0 game better than Utah as of Saturday. The Jazz flipped Beverley, Beasley and Vanderbilt to the Lakers in separate deals that landed Ainge a 2027 protected Lakers first-rounder. 

All that happened in year one, plus more. 

Despite deconstructing part of the team's core at the deadline and posting a -2.0 net rating since, the Jazz play close games every night and won 6 of 13 since, with only two losses decided by 10 points or more. Ainge found his Stevens in Hardy and the Mitchell deal with Cleveland, hoodwinking the Knicks who hoped they'd land him without giving up Quentin Grimes, receiving rights to five more firsts and multiple players including Lauri Markkanen, who immediately became Ainge's Isaiah Thomas-style addition. Markkanen became an all-star in year one, averaging 25.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5% from the field and 40.3% from three. Trading Bojan Bogdanovic for Kelly Olynyk (Ainge's 2013 first-round selection with Boston) looked like a hit too as Olynyk is averaging 12.0 PPG. Utah recently signed Kris Dunn, a former draft target from Ainge's Celtics days, on a 10-day deal that Dunn extended through the rest of the year.

More work lies ahead for Ainge, who undoubtedly stagnated in his final Boston seasons. Grant Williams' contract negotiation is set to become Stevens' next assessment of Ainge's Celtics tenure. Drafting so many rookies between 2016-2020 without consolidating the roster led to an array of misses that undermined Boston's depth after Kyrie Irving, Terry Rozier, Marcus Morris and Horford originally departed in 2019. The failed Irving experiment became a major part of his legacy, but his Walker signing helped the Celtics to drive to the 2020 east finals. Ainge always bounced back.

"There was a possibility that I would step away forever, my wife and I discussed that many times," Ainge said at his Utah introduction. "I had looked at other opportunities outside basketball ... I didn't know. Within the last couple of weeks, I watch NBA games all the time, sitting in my fireplace by myself watching games isn't as exciting as being in an office and watching games collectively with a group of people, it's more fun ... I think my wife knew I was starting to get the buzz a couple weeks ago." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week... 

Atlanta (35-35): Extended Bogdan Bogdanovic on a four-year, $68-million contract that keeps him in Atlanta through 2027 (team option) with declining salaries starting at $18.7 million next season. The shooter missed the start of this season after knee surgery and returned to 14.1 PPG on 40.1% three-point efficiency, further committing to a middling roster that lost badly to Boston and Minnesota this week, falling to within 0.5 games of the ninth seed and the lower half of the play-in tournament. There's a case for retaining a good player at a modest salary against a rising cap, but a glance at their increasingly expensive cap sheet shows young players like Onyeka Okongwu, De'Andre Hunter, Jalen Johnson, AJ Griffin and Saddiq Bey growing without significant opportunity available to them. Quin Snyder is trying to instill new habits without much time remaining. 

Boston (49-22): Jayson Tatum tweaked his hip in a fall after he dunked on Rudy Gobert in a win over the Timberwolves where he finished 4-for-16 and missed every jump shot. He played against Portland, but entered the front half of the back-to-back shooting 31.9% from deep this month while Joe Mazzulla encourages him to threaten defenses with that pull-up. Jaylen Brown is thriving, averaging 29.9 PPG over his last seven games and driving a win over Atlanta with 24 points and keeping Boston in a game where they stunningly lost to the tanking Rockets with 43. 

Robert Williams III (hamstring) is expected to return next week to stabilize a struggling defense, but a league-worst crunch time offense since the all-star break threatens to slide them to the three seed after Philadelphia pulled with 0.5 games. Marcus Smart (ankle) admitted he isn't fully healthy either on the trip. Assistant coach Damon Stoudamire left the team to accept the head coaching role at Georgia Tech, the third coaching loss this year. 

Brooklyn (39-31): Shocked the Nuggets on Sunday behind another strong Mikal Bridges performance, as he's now averaging 26.1 PPG on 50% shooting in 15 games since joining the Nets. His play resembles an All-NBA performer on both ends and gives the Nets a great starting point, but rotation questions continue to baffle Jacque Vaughn and Ben Simmons remains out with multiple ailments that Vaughn continues to insist won't end his season. They've thrived playing small recently without him, playing Dorian Finney-Smith at the five as Nic Claxton's backup. 

Charlotte (22-50): Majority owner MIchael Jordan will reportedly seek to sell his share of the Hornets after leading the franchise since 2010. Minority owners Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, who own part of the Hawks, emerged as early possible suitors to take over the rebuilding team. Jordan would likely remain as a minority owner after only leading the Hornets to the playoffs in 2-of-13 seasons as the team turns toward the lottery this year. They pulled within 3.0 games of the top lottery odds after four straight losses with 10 games to play. They're comfortably the fourth-worst team by 7.0 games. 

Chicago (32-37): Lonzo Ball will miss most if not all of next season, 2023-24, as he'll officially undergo a third surgery on his injured left knee, a cartilage transplant he and the team hope will allow him to continue his career. It's the latest in a list of staggering developments from a surgery originally scheduled to sideline the guard in January 2022 for a matter of weeks. Instead, he struggled to run, jump or even walk upstairs in the early stages of his recovery, an issue a follow-up surgery couldn't solve. DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine combined for 88 points on Friday against Minnesota to maintain the Bulls' standing as the east's 10th seed, only 2.5 games back of the double elimination tier of the play-in tournament behind Atlanta. 

Cleveland (45-28): Beat up on a soft part of their schedule, topping Charlotte twice and Washington on Friday, while they felt Jarrett Allen's (eye) absence over that stretch most in a loss against Philadelphia. The Sixers' recent charge and win over the Cavaliers gave them a 4.0 game cushion over them, while Cleveland's wins in 7-of-10 maintained their 3.0 game lead on the Knicks for home-court advantage. Cleveland.com reported the team hopes to bring Allen back in one of its two games against Brooklyn this week, solving a surprising problem playing big when they're missing front court players.

“We are smaller than we’ve been,” J.B. Bickerstaff said recently. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Dallas (36-35): Kyrie Irving (foot soreness) returned from a three-game absence with Luka Dončić (thigh) sat for his fourth night out in a row, Irving made the most important play of his young Mavericks tenure by dribbling out of a double team down by two in the final seconds against the Lakers and finding Maxi Kleber for a game-winning three. Kleber, who missed 35 games with a torn hamstring, returned to trusted status in Jason Kidd's rotation recently despite calls for more Christian Wood. Kleber averaged 24.7 MPG to Wood's 20.6 MPG over that stretch, shooting only 33.3% from three, but rewarding Kidd with six of his 10 points against LA in the final minute, drawing three free throws on Anthony Davis then beating him on the buzzer beater. Kleber posted a -4.5 net rating in his first seven appearances back, compared to Wood's -12.3 over that stretch and 130.2 defensive rating.  

“You look at just the depth that we have with all the bigs," Kidd said recently. "We’re trying to get them in the game and see who has the hot hand, and right now, with Maxi back, that’s going to cut some of (Wood's) minutes down, especially when we’re healthy." 

Denver (47-23): Nikola Jokić is no longer the betting favorite for MVP after the Nuggets' losing streak extended to four games against the Nets and Raptors while Joel Embiid's surge atop the 76ers continued. Jokic's net rating fell to +3.4 while the Nuggets lost 4-of-7 to start this month, while Embiid's increased to +8.6 through seven wins in eight games. Denver returned to form against the Pistons, scoring a win led by 30 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists from Jokic. The Nuggets will enter the playoffs as the top seed, and stand among a handful of contenders, but many people still miss them locally due to growing local television issues across the league. 

Golden State (36-35): An abysmal road season continued with losses against the Clippers and Hawks that dropped their record to 7-28. Andrew Wiggins (personal) missed his 13th straight game with no timetable set for his return. Draymond Green drew his 16th technical foul of the season against LA, triggering an automatic one-game suspension against Atlanta where the Warriors, particularly Jordan Poole struggled to generate stops while Trae Young ran away with the win in transition. The team converted Anthony Lamb's two-way deal to a standard contract, making him playoff-eligible in a move reflective of how deep they need to dig for depth contributions. Curry scored 50 points on 20-for-28 shooting against the Clippers. Not enough. Andre Iguodala (wrist) will undergo surgery on a fracture he suffered last week against the Suns and miss at least the rest of the regular season. 

Houston (18-52): This season didn't come close to approaching expectations for Jabari Smith Jr., but he showed spurts of greatness during a three-game Rockets win streak over the Celtics, Lakers and Pelicans this week. Smith hit 9-of-18 from three and averaged 20.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG and 2.0 APG, beating the buzzer to defeat New Orleans. His rebounding and floor-running abilities shined in a stunner over Boston where he scored 24 points, shaking off a season where he's struggled to hit shots and get involved consistently in an isolation-heavy offense. The Celtics' loss to them marked a low point in their season, but Houston's bump into a tie with the Spurs for the second-worst record in the league carries implications for Boston, who receives the Rockets' second-round pick if it isn't 31-32 (one of the league's worst two records). They received the protected pick in the Desmond Bane trade. 

Indiana (32-38): Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell combined for 39 points and 18 assists in one of the more shocking results of this NBA season, a 139-123 Pacers win over the Bucks without Tyrese Haliburton. Aaron Nesmith scored 22 points on 8-for-11 shooting. Milwaukee had Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton available. Haliburton sprained his right ankle at practice the day before and could miss extended time with only 12 games remaining, likely setting the Pacers up for a lottery finish rather than play-in competition. Indiana received $42.2 million in revenue sharing last year, according to an ESPN report, showing the franchise's position as perhaps the least self-sufficient as their rebuild continues. 

Their latest win kept them 0.5 games back of the playoff picture in the east and tied for seventh in the lottery with Washington. 

Clippers (37-33): Won their fourth straight game despite Marcus Morris' ejection against the Warriors. Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points while Terance Mann and Eric Gordon scored double-figures off the bench, LA leaning into defense to beat the Raptors and Knicks after Leonard and Paul George combined for 76 points in a 135-129 win over the Grizzlies. Norman Powell (shoulder) remains out for a sixth straight game on Saturday and Ty Lue said his absence could extend beyond that. A weird February incident where the team's plane got struck by lightning resurfaced this week, a moment that had Bones Hyland thinking it could all come to an end. Instead, the Clippers find themselves 1.0 game back of Phoenix for home court one month later. 

Lakers (34-37): In a tie with the Jazz for the 10 seed after a brutal collapse against Dallas where Anthony Davis fouled and lost Maxi Kleber on consecutive three-point attempts, squandering a four-point lead with under one minute to play. The sequence worsened a week where D'Angelo Russell couldn't lead the Lakers to a win over the Rockets with Davis resting, while Brian Windhorst noted on his podcast that LeBron James (foot) is not close to returning despite cryptic posts by James himself pointing in an optimistic direction. The Lakers are 5-5 since James went down, and finish their home stand against Orlando, Phoenix, Oklahoma City and Chicago this week, a stretch of crucial, winnable games before a long road trip. 

Memphis (42-27): Ja Morant will return to the Grizzlies after serving an eight-game suspension handed down by Adam Silver for appearing in a Colorado club with a gun that Morant told ESPN wasn't his in his first interview since the incident. Morant left a facility in Florida where he received counseling for 10 days related to dealing with stress, with six games he already missed counting toward the eight, setting him up for a return next week. Perhaps against the Rockets on Wednesday after Morant undergoes conditioning to rejoin the team. It wasn't clear days ago whether Morant would play again this season after a string of incidents stemming from last summer that went lightly addressed in his interview with Jalen Rose. 

"I used that as an escape, which I shouldn't have," Morant said of his Colorado live stream. "I feel like that's the reason I made many bad decisions in my past, which doesn't pretty much describe me, doesn't describe Ja as a person. I'm a totally different person than what's been shown in the media. That's my job now. That's why I took that time away, to become a better Ja, so everybody really can see who Ja really is and you know what he's about."

Miami (38-33): Beat the Grizzlies while scoring a season-high 138 points behind 20-point games from Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo and strong passing efforts, including 20 minutes from Kyle Lowry off the bench. Kevin Love continues to start to give the Heat a larger interior posture and Gabe Vincent is holding down point guard duties for now. Butler approached postseason form, forcing overtime with a clutch three over the Magic in an eventual loss and leading a win over the Jazz with 24 points that helped pull Miami within 1.5 games of the Nets to avoid the play-in tournament. That would also eliminate the Heat as a first-round opponent for the Celtics if Boston holds onto a No. 1 or 2 seed. Cody Zeller broke his nose in their latest win, setting up returning center Ömer Yurtseven to return to his backup center role. They've won 5-of-7.  

Milwaukee (50-20): Khris Middleton's 31 points and nine assists in a win over the Kings marked his best performance yet since returning from knee and wrist injuries that derailed the start of his season. His acclimation to the starting lineup, now averaging 20.2 PPG and 7.8 APG on 44.4% shooting (41.7% 3PT) solidifies this ascending group as championship favorites when healthy. Milwaukee leads Boston by 1.5 games with 12 to play, including a final matchup at the Bucks' home on Mar. 30 that could effectively decide the east's top seed. Giannis Antetokounmpo, now averaging 31.4 PPG, 11.9 RPG and 5.5 APG, said he's desperate to win his third MVP award and second championship. The Bucks rank 16th in offense, third in defense and sixth in net rating, a worse overall profile than Boston, but riding a surge that resembles the Celtics' to close last regular season. 

Minnesota (35-36): Lost to the Bulls despite receiving 20-point games from Mike Conley, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert, while Anthony Edwards fell with a severe-looking right ankle injury. The Wolves' close loss to Boston, which featured ejections for Edwards and Kyle Anderson in the closing seconds over a string of frustrating calls, including a clearly bad jump ball tossed to Grant Williams that helped decide the game, preceded the double overtime thriller with Chicago, which featured a monstrous Nikola Vučević slam through Gobert that sealed their loss after Nickeil Alexander-Walker air-balled a free throw. Minnesota fell 1.0 game behind Dallas to the eighth seed, only 1.0 game ahead of the No. 11 Jazz in a tight west. While Edwards left the arena in a boot, Karl-Anthony Towns is expected back in the coming weeks after missing most of the season. 

New Orleans (33-37): Consider a loss to the Rockets before the buzzer the low point of their second-half slide. The Pelicans fell to 12th in the west, 0.5 games behind the Lakers, whose pick they appear less likely to receive in any significant manner. Especially if Zion Williamson misses the remainder of the regular season as he appears likely to. A shakeup seems in order here regardless of how they finish, with many picks available to them into the future to deal, whether LA's ensuing selection or an array of Bucks picks, plus their own. They might've waited too long to insure the roster against injury though, as they now rank 26th in offense and net rating since Williamson exited the lineup on Jan. 2. CJ McCollum called for urgency. 

New York (41-30): Immanuel Quickley moved to the starting lineup for the last three games in place of injured Jalen Brunson (foot) and keyed a win over the Trail Blazers with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Quickley briefly overtook Malcolm Brogdon in the lead for the sixth-man award, according to betting odds, and while Quickley left that role for a week, his production as a stand-in starter should strengthen his case as the top reserve if it continues. Brunson practiced on Friday and could return on Saturday for the Knicks' game against the Nuggets. They trail Cleveland by 3.0 games for the fourth seed.

Oklahoma City (34-36): In the playoff picture as the ninth seed with 12 games remaining as winners of 6-of-10. This athletic, young group might as well experience the play-in tournament before adding another possible lottery pick if they lose and await Chet Holmgren's return next season. This year became a perfect storm after that initial blow to begin it, and though their race with the Lakers and Jazz is far from over, the Trail Blazers and Pelicans continue to fade among their potential competitors for a spot. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led them over the Pelicans and Nets this week, while Jalen Williams served 10 assists and strengthened his growing rookie-of-the-year case against the Spurs. They face the Suns, Clippers twice and Lakers this week. Gilgeous-Alexander appears likely to miss back-to-backs while nursing an abdominal ailment, which includes the Lakers game. 

Philadelphia (47-22): They'll continue to pressure the Celtics for the No. 2 seed until the final days of the season, it appears, as winners of seven straight games and 26-of-34. Joel Embiid is now the betting favorite for MVP, averaging 33.9 PPG, 10.6 RPG and 1.8 BPG on 56.1% shooting in the new year. Their schedule remains soft, too, with the Pacers and a home-and-home with the Bulls up next before their final west coast trip. Losing a first-round matchup with a play-in team should scare the Celtics, who still have a game at Philadelphia on Apr. 4 remaining to secure a tiebreaker and further standings advantage. Any game until then gives the Sixers opportunities to make up ground though, with few teams equipped to guard Embiid. 

“I did play with Patrick Ewing, he wasn’t bad,” Doc Rivers said, glowing over Embiid this week while also comparing him to Kevin Garnett. “But this guy — from the three, from the mid-range, to the post and really to taking people off the dribble with his size, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Phoenix (38-32): James Jones' pronouncement that Kevin Durant (ankle) would play if the playoffs began now eased some of the late-season stress after Durant's injury in the layup line last week sidelined him three games into his Suns tenure. The team didn't do a great job holding it down in his absence, losing to the Kings, Warriors and Bucks in low-scoring efforts that knocked Phoenix 4.5 games behind the Grizzlies and into a tight race with the Clippers, Mavericks and Warriors for home court advantage and the fourth seed. Durant will miss at least two more weeks after shooting around Thursday.

Portland (31-39): Will reportedly consider sitting Damian Lillard for the rest of the season, according to Chris Haynes, if their playoff standing doesn't improve in the coming games, now 2.5 games back as the 13th seed in the west playoff picture. Friday's loss to Boston, with Jerami Grant and Nassir Little missing due to non-COVID illnesses, saw Lillard try to pull the Blazers back with 25 points in the fourth quarter, nearly making a 19-point game a two-possession one in the final minutes. It's worth wondering if we're watching his final games in Portland, despite his insistence on making it work in recent years. They don't have close to enough around him, even considering injuries and other misfortune striking this team, like a front office change.

Sacramento (42-37): Lost Kevin Huerter (hamstring) in their win over the Nets where Domantas Sabonis posted 24 points, 21 rebounds and five assists to win Sacramento its eighth game over its last 10. Ja Morant's impending return should heat up the tied race for the two seed in the west, which would likely set up the Kings to play in multiple rounds despite concerns over this group's defense and fortune in close games. Huerter, who the team clarified hurt his popliteus muscle, is considered day-to-day and questionable for Saturday's meeting with the Wizards. They host the Celtics on Tuesday. Trey Lyles missed their win over the Bulls earlier this week after beefing with Giannis Antetokounmpo that sent Brook Lopez after Lyles for his shove.

Toronto (34-36): Nick Nurse made the pitch for O.G. Anunoby to win defensive player of the year for his positionless efforts guarding opponents, which won Marcus Smart the award last year. While the Raptors' defensive season won't help his case, now 14th in the new year, the team deciding to keep him set them up for an interesting summer ahead of his final season under contract before he can opt out and become a free agent in 2024. The Raptors can negotiate an extension for a 20% raise, limiting their ability to keep him due to his relatively small $18.6-million salary. That's something the NBA and its players hope to address in the upcoming CBA the sides hope to agree to this month. Jakob Poetl, steadying their play since his deadline arrival, spoke about his return to Toronto. The Raptors hold a 2.0 game advantage over the 11th-seed Pacers with 12 games to play. 

Utah (33-36): Lauri Markkanen's 38 points fell short against the Heat as the Jazz host the Celtics on Saturday as losers of 5-of-7, now tied for the 10th seed in the west playoff picture with the Lakers. Talen Horton-Tucker down the Hornets prior to their latest loss with 37 points over the Hornets, but Utah's defense remains vulnerable entering a matchup between 2022 Celtics assistants Will Hardy and Joe Mazzulla, two of the favorites for coach of the year after working together on Ime Udoka's staff to lead Boston to the NBA Finals.

Washington (32-38): They rank 15th in offense and 20th in defense in the new year, losing 117-94 to the Cavaliers to fall into a tie with Indiana, 0.5 games behind the Bulls in the east playoff picture. Difficult matchups against the Kings, Nuggets, Raptors and Celtics loom over their next six games that could make-or-break what's become their ceiling -- a play-in appearance in the east. Changes fell due here this offseason, with Bradley Beal's future now similar to what the Blazers need to assess regarding Damian Lillard.