CourtSideHeat

Jeff Teague: “Kon Knueppel is arguably the best White American Basketball player in the league. I would take him over Austin Reaves. Cooper Flagg is good but he’s not like this.”

REPORT: the Magic have been “very active” in acquiring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s services (Via @kirkgoldsberry)

Kawhi Leonard on the NBA 65-game rule: "I don’t think that rule is changing anybody to play if they’re really hurt. I don’t think it makes sense to just try to go for a game if you’re in nagging pain.”

Josh Hart on Stephen A. Smith's comments about him and Mikal Bridges: "For me, I think Stephen A., as a part-time Knicks fan, needs to shut the h— up. He barely knows guys that are on the team."

REPORT: Howard Beck says the NBA expansion is all driven by money with Las Vegas and Seattle *NOT* "guaranteed" to get expansion teams if another city offers more money

LeBron James on Bronny James: “Especially knowing the path, you know, the road… So, just proud of him. I’m super proud of him. And he belongs. He belongs.”

Marcus Smart says he takes pride in being a locker room leader for the Lakers: “LeBron and Luka don’t really talk as much, they be locked in. Deandre Ayton’s my guy, he’s kind of all over the place, so I regulate that and make sure everyone else is good.”

Bleacher Report’s latest NBA mock draft: 1. AJ Dybantsa 2. Cameron Boozer 3. Darryn Peterson 4. Caleb Wilson 5. Darius Acuff Jr. 6. Keaton Wagler 7. Kingston Flemings 8. Mikel Brown Jr. 9. Brayden Burries 10. Labaron Philon Jr. 11. Braylon Mullins 12. Koa Peat 13. Yaxel Lendeborg 14. Nate Ament

Michael Wilbon on the MVP race: “I have a vote in this. And I will tell you it’s tightened up… I think it’s Jaylen Brown one, SGA two, and Victor three. And then don’t talk to me about a guy who plays half the court, Luka Dončić.”

BREAKING: Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee and will be out for the remainder of the season (Via Shams Charania)

Gilbert Arenas says Miami LeBron is not the best version of LeBron James: “05-06 LeBron was the best LeBron because he was averaging 31 with no help.”

The future of Cam Thomas is uncertain. He will get another shot in the NBA, BUT it’ll look extremely different Thomas turned down a two-year, $30 million extension from the Nets. Which necessarily wasn’t bad for him, as it was time to leave - it was killing him in the long run HOWEVER, his run with the Bucks was brutal. They canned him after 18 games of decent shooting splits and bench-level scoring What seemed like a great idea has turned into a nightmare. Within a span of months, he has been waived by two teams AND, given the timing of it, due to the March 1 deadline, he can't even play in the 2026 playoffs His season is practically over. Him trying to salvage his reputation and value has been compromised for the remainder of this season For a guy who put up multiple 30, 40-point performances, he has fallen from grace So much so that Milwaukee had no interest in publicly speaking about him Fans are now left in shock and quickly trying to figure out what the next phase of his career will look like For now, all we know, is that Thomas went from having a guaranteed career in the NBA to now praying a team will give him a shot to prove himself

Deuce, Jayson Tatum's son, in a letter he wrote to his dad: "I'm proud of my dad. But I'm also so happy for my dad that he's winning games now that he's playing, and that he can keep winning games so he can get ourselves to the championship."

Paul George on the substance that triggered his suspension: "I won't get into specifics of what it was, that's more on the personal side.”

REPORT: the Rockets are expected to make a "major run" at Giannis Antetokounmpo this offseason (Via @SIChrisMannix)

Doc Rivers on why Cam Thomas fell out with the Bucks’ coaching staff: “There are things that we don’t need to talk about.” 👀

LeBron James on the first time he saw Austin Reaves play: “The first thing I noticed… He didn’t play like a white boy. His wiggle was very different. I grew up in Northeast Ohio, so I know white guys playing like white guys and white guys playing like the brothers.”

🚨 CRAZY BUT TRUE 🚨 LeBron James had 0 points at halftime, that’s only the *THIRD* time in his *ENTIRE* NBA career Think about that for a second… (Via @DanWoikeSports)

PASCAL SIAKAM AND THE PACERS HAVE DONE IT 🔥 Indiana take down the Orlando Magic to snap their 16-game losing streak Their first win since February 11th Siakam put up 37/6/1/2/2 to get the job done Jarace Walker had 20, Aaron Nesmith had 19, Andrew Nembhard had 13/7/14 Everyone chipped in contributed *BIG*

BREAKING: the Milwaukee Bucks have waived Cam Thomas (Per the team)