The Dallas Mavericks have been without Luka Doncic since he was injured on Christmas Day. Now, there is optimism that Doncic will return to the lineup before the All-Star break.
Doncic suffered a severely strained left calf in the Mavs Christmas Day loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’s missed a month’s worth of action since. The All-Star Break begins for Dallas after they host the Miami Heat on February 13. That gives Doncic roughly two-and-a-half weeks to make his return to the lineup.
The Mavs superstar has played in only 22 of his team’s first 45 games this season. Doncic is no longer eligible for NBA postseason awards, due to missing more than 17 games this season.
The Toronto Raptors have made it known to rival teams that they are interested in being involved in trades as a facilitator. In particular, Toronto would like to get involved in a multi-team deal where the Miami Heat trade Jimmy Butler.
“They want to get involved in any Jimmy Butler trade,” one general manager told Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
The Raptors are reportedly offering Bruce Brown and his expiring $23 million contract in deals. Toronto is unlikely to retain Brown following this season. That makes his contract an attractive trade asset and could go a long way towards matching salary in what is likely to be a complicated Butler trade.
The Heat are said to have interest in acquiring Brown. The veteran guard played his college ball at the University of Miami. In addition, Brown would fit the Heat’s goal of acquiring win-now veterans on short-term contracts. Miami remains focused on making the 2025 playoffs, but do not want to add long-term salary to their books.
The Miami Heat are trying to thread a pretty complicated needle in any potential Jimmy Butler trade. Miami wants to remain a playoff team, but the Heat also do not want to take on long-term money in a Butler trade.
Miami wants to make the playoffs this season, so that their first-round draft pick will convey to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Draft. If that pick does not convey, it will roll over to the 2026 draft with no protections. That will then force the Heat to give the Charlotte Hornets an unprotected first-round pick in the 2028 draft. If the Heat convey the pick to the Thunder this year, they owe the Hornets a lottery-protected pick in 2027.
In addition, Pat Riley and the Miami front office is looking to create salary flexibility in a Butler deal. The Heat are looking to players in the offseason free agent of trade market in either the summer of 2025 or the summer of 2026. That’s why Miami is reluctant to take back long-term money in a potential Butler deal.
Purdue’s historic home-court advantage at Mackey Arena was too much for a ranked Michigan team to handle.