David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 34

Charlotte Hornets star guard LaMelo Ball is playing like an All-Star this season and is one of the top vote getters for the All-Star Game. But the one key concern for him and the Hornets is his injury outlook. During the Hornets’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, LaMelo Ball left the game […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Dorian Finney-Smith in a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, they acquired the type of wing defender they lacked since the departures of Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green. With almost one month having passed since the trade, the Lakers early returns on Dorian Finney-Smith […]

The Los Angeles Sparks were part of a blockbuster trade on Saturday, also involving the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces, amid the WNBA free agency period. The main part of the trade for the Sparks is All-Star guard Kelsey Plum. The deal has to be a sign-and-trade for the Sparks since Plum had hit […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off their third straight win after defeating the Golden State Warriors, 118-108 on Saturday. It was the first of a five-game road trip for the Lakers, and that trip continues on Monday against the Charlotte Hornets. Again, the main question for the Lakers is who will be available to […]

The Dallas Mavericks’ 2024-25 season has been hampered by injuries, and head coach Jason Kidd recently gave an honest answer about the team’s injury woes. In response to the Mavericks’ increasing number of injuries, the team announced that they had made a roster move in the form of a two-way contract. The Mavericks announced that […]

The Orlando Magic have seen their share of unfortunate injury luck this season. While they recently welcomed Paolo Banchero back in the lineup, and as well as getting Franz Wagner back from injury, they suffered another injury scare on Saturday. Jalen Suggs exited the Magic’s game against the Detroit Pistons with an apparent injury. Jalen […]

To say the 2024-25 season has been disappointing for the Philadelphia 76ers is an understatement. For a team that was supposed to be a contender in the Eastern Conference, the 76ers have struggled to stay healthy and to form any consistent cohesiveness. The latest bad news for the 76ers came in the form of a […]

A season ago, the Dallas Mavericks used a strong trade deadline to power a run to the NBA Finals. This season, the Mavericks are pace for the play-in, currently sitting in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. A big reason for the Mavericks uneven season has been their injury woes. Following the Mavericks’ 122-107 […]

It’s not often that an NBA players has a jersey retirement ceremony for two teams, but that’s exactly what happened with Vince Carter this season. Vince Carter had his jersey retired by the Toronto Raptors earlier this year, and this weekend he was scheduled to have the Nets retire his jersey amid their game against […]

With the days leading up to the NBA trade deadline going by, one of the biggest dominoes to fall will be Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler. Butler has already requested a trade from the Heat, and the Heat have also suspended Butler twice this month. Amid all the trade drama, Butler holds fond feelings for […]

The WNBA free agency negotiation period is underway, and some of the biggest name free agents, like Brittney Griner, have been taking free agent meetings with interested teams. But with only minor free agent signings official so far, there is apparently one potential move that is holding up the WNBA free agency dominoes from falling. […]

The Los Angeles Lakers begin a five-game road trip with a matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, but the main question has become who will be available to play. The Lakers got a big boost with Jarred Vanderbilt set to make his season debut, but LeBron James received a status update on the […]

LOS ANGELES – Throughout the 2024-25 season, Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has often spoke about building a team identity and raising the standard. In recent games, results were disappointing against the Los Angeles Clippers, but much smoother against the Boston Celtics. Both of those teams are among the best defensive teams in […]

LOS ANGELES – With the NBA trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to be a team to keep an eye on. With both LeBron James and Anthony Davis reportedly putting pressure on the organization to make a trade or two, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked about that, along with […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have not fielded a healthy roster all season, but they took a step closer towards being whole with their upcoming game this weekend against the Golden State Warriors. Jarred Vanderbilt, who has not made his season debut yet due to injury recovery, was noticeably absent from the Lakers’ injury report, as […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers shook off the bitter taste of their disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, with a dominant, 111-88 win over the Washington Wizards that had head coach JJ Redick remarking that the Lakers are trending in the right direction. During the Lakers’ win, Austin Reaves found LeBron James […]

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark celebrated a big milestone this week with her 23rd birthday, and her boyfriend Connor McCaffery, made sure to dedicate a post on social media to her. McCaffery posted a few photos of him and Clark together with the caption, “Happy 23rd CC (finally we’re celebrating together this year)! You have […]

When it comes to former NBA players, there are few who are as vocal, especially on social media, as Nick Young. So it comes as no surprise that Young weighed in on the recent NBA trade deadline rumors. With the Phoenix Suns seemingly a favorite to make a potential Jimmy Butler trade, Young took to […]

When the Brooklyn Nets formed the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, the prevailing thought was they were a championship contender. What followed was one of the most disappointing stretches in recent Nets history, with all three ultimately being traded. Kevin Durant made his return to the Nets arena on Wednesday along […]

With the NBA trade deadline approaching, the Milwaukee Bucks were recently rumored to be more interested in a Bradley Beal trade rather than a trade for Jimmy Butler. But with the NBA trade deadline just about two weeks way, there is reportedly no traction on a potential Bradley Beal to the Bucks trade, as per […]

Before the start of the WNBA free agency period this week, the Dallas Wings already knew they were going to lose All-Star Satou Sabally. Although the Wings cored Sabally, both sides are expected to work out an eventual sign-and-trade deal so they don’t lose her for nothing. But the Wings made another roster move in […]

LOS ANGELES – While the Lakers’ frontcourt rotation has been an issue due to multiple injuries, the Lakers’ backcourt was an area of concern early in the 2024-25 season due to inconsistent play. But in recent months, both Gabe Vincent and Max Christie have raised their level of play for the Lakers this season. Gabe […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, but they’ve got a quick turnaround as they take on the Washington Wizards at home on Tuesday. The question for the Lakers is who is going to be available against the Wizards. Anthony Davis was added to the Lakers injury […]

The Golden State Warriors came into their matchup against the Boston Celtics on Monday a little short-handed. Draymond Green was out due to a calf injury, Jonathan Kuminga has been out due to an ankle injury, and Kyle Anderson and Brandin Podziemski were also out due to injury. Amid the absences, the Warriors were humiliated, […]

The WNBA free agency negotiating period is set to begin on Jan. 21, and the Phoenix Mercury have already made a roster move. In advance of Tuesday’s negotiating period, WNBA teams were able to core players, as the Connecticut Sun did with Alyssa Thomas, as well as extend qualifying offers to reserved and restricted free […]

The Connecticut Sun underwent a major change already with the hiring of Rachid Meziane as their new head coach following the departure of Stephanie White to the Indiana Fever. And with the WNBA free agency period already here, the Sun are going to have to see what happens with Alyssa Thomas. The WNBA free agency […]

When it comes to the NBA, one of the most outspoken critics against Donald Trump has been Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. So it comes as no surprise that Steve Kerr did not bother to watch Trump’s inauguration on Monday. So what did Kerr watch instead? When asked about the inauguration happening on […]

The Golden State Warriors have been hit hard with the injury bug in recent weeks. Among the Warriors’ primary concerns is the recent calf injury suffered by Draymond Green. Green is currently sidelined due to the injury, and on Monday the team released an update on a potential timetable for the injury. The Warriors announced […]

The Los Angeles Clippers, fresh off their dominant win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, have a quick turnaround with a back-to-back against the visiting Chicago Bulls. But the team might be a little bit short-handed. Both Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden appeared on the team’s injury report for their Bulls clash, […]

When the Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship, Bruce Brown was a big part of that title run. He ended up using that playoff run to earn a bigger contract from the Indiana Pacers. Since his departure, the Nuggets haven’t quite been able to replicate his bench production. And now, as the NBA trade […]

After a 12-3 start to the 2024-25 season, the Golden State Warriors have struggled. As the NBA trade deadline approaches, the Warriors could be a team looking to swing a deal in hopes of reigniting the team. Injuries have certainly played a part in the Warriors struggles, with Jonathan Kuminga currently sidelined due to an […]

LOS ANGELES – While the Los Angeles Lakers certainly had much to think about following their 116-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, that wasn’t the only thing on their minds. Austin Reaves seemingly suffered an injury late in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ loss and did not return to the game. After the […]

The WNBA free agency period is set to begin on Jan. 21, but in the meantime teams are allowed to tender qualifying offers to reserved and restricted free agents as well as assign core designations. The Los Angeles Sparks made one such move ahead of the WNBA free agency period by tendering a qualifying offer […]

In each of the last two NBA trade deadlines, the Dallas Mavericks have made a major trade. In 2023, the Mavericks traded for star point guard Kyrie Irving. In 2024, the Mavericks traded for PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford. This season, the Mavericks have reported trade interest in New Orleans Pelicans wing Herb Jones, as […]

As the NBA trade deadline draws near, a couple of names that are hot in the rumor mill are Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal and Miami Heat wing Jimmy Butler, with the Milwaukee Bucks mentioned as a team that could make a play for either. But should the Bucks jump in the mix, they are […]

One of the age old tenets in college basketball is not to count out Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. As long as Izzo is at the helm, Michigan State will be a dangerous and competitive team. On Sunday, the Spartans defeated Illinois, 80-78, and Tom Izzo was feeling a little nostalgic about Michigan […]

LOS ANGELES – With NBA two-way contracts not counting against the salary cap, teams can essentially rotate players throughout the season. With three two-way contract spots available per team, it’s become a good way to evaluate players on a sort of trial and error basis. The Lakers made a recent change, waiving two-way contract player […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have their first matchup against their former Crypto.com Arena neighbors, the Los Angeles Clippers. Not only is it the first meeting between these two teams this season, but it will also be the Lakers’ first visit to the brand new Intuit Dome. The only question is, who will be available to […]

Kyrie Irving is in his second full season with the Dallas Mavericks after the 2023 trade with the Brooklyn Nets that brought him to Dallas. With the NBA trade deadline approaching, the anniversary of Irving being acquired by the Mavericks is also approaching. Following the Mavericks win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, Kyrie […]