De'Aaron Fox makes first NBA All-Star game
Amidst NBA All-Star selections, De’Aaron Fox was pointed out as one of the biggest snubs from the event. The sixth-year guard out of Kentucky is having a career season for a much improved Sacramento Kings team. However, that perceived wrong has now been righted by league commissioner Adam Silver.
Due to injuries suffered by All-Stars, Silver is responsible for naming their substitutions. With Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Zion Williamson all set to miss the event, Fox was chosen alongside Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and Toronto’s Pascal Siakam as injury replacements per Adrian Wojnarowski.
Fox is averaging the second most points per game in his career at 24.2. Meanwhile, he’s averaging 6.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game in his 49 games while only missing five to this point. Fox is also shooting a career-best 50.4% from the field and is leading the NBA in clutch points as well as field goals, attempts, and percentage in clutch time.
Pair all of that with the fact that the Kings currently sit third in the Western Conference standings and Fox had an easy All-Star case to make. Still, he did not make it in during the voting process as a starter or a reserve although his teammate, Domantas Sabonis, did.
Fox has been posting great numbers for several seasons now and many people were waiting for him to get his due recognition. Now it seems he’ll be getting exactly that, albeit as a replacement, through his first All-Star selection.
LA Clippers trade John Wall back to the Houston Rockets
Whew. Second-round picks and mediocre NBA contributors are shifting around the league as the 2023 NBA season approaches the Thursday trade deadline at 3 p.m. ET. One of the many players moved was former Kentucky rockstar John Wall.
Wall was a Rocket for the past couple seasons before finally moving away to the Los Angeles Clippers this season. But, after roughly half a year with LAC, the ‘Clips decided to deal him just before the deadline in a complicated three-team trade.
Shams Charania won this battle, reporting news of the Wall trade to Twitter 45 minutes before the final deadline horn. Here was that tweet:
“The Houston Rockets are acquiring John Wall in three-team deal with the Grizzlies and Clippers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.”
Adrian Wojnarowski added more details to the trade a few minutes later:
“Breaking: The Rockets are acquiring John Wall as part of a three-team deal. The Clippers are sending Luke Kennard to the Grizzlies, and the Clippers are getting Eric Gordon, Danny Green and three second-round picks, sources told @wojespn.”
Wall will hit the open market as a free agent after Houston likely buys him out, according to Yahoo:
“Rockets plan to waive John Wall, per Yahoo. So Wall, Westbrook, perhaps Danny Green, among those who would be buyout options.”
This will effectively make him a free agent who will be able to sign with any team he likes afterward. In all likelihood, he lands on a contender that needs some help in the backcourt or has a primary ball-handler go down.