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We’re entering the back half of Week 1 of the 2023-24 NBA season and James Harden is still seeking a new home. While the Los Angeles Clippers are his preferred destination and have reportedly halted negotiations for the time being, other teams could become interested in acquiring him in the more immediate future. Fringe playoff teams are looking to avoid being on the outside looking in once the postseason rolls around while legitimate contenders are hoping to add a finishing touch for a deep title run. The disgruntled Harden could be helpful to both situations and we’ve outlined cases for why two teams should consider bringing him in.

Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves were a play-in team last year and want to do everything they can to make a real push with Anthony Edwards as the face of the franchise. The 22-year-old wing drew some Harden comparisons out of college and Minnesota could use a player who puts more pressure on defenses running at point guard. Harden hasn’t been a go-to scorer in years, but he did lead the league in assists per game last season and his playmaking could benefit several Timberwolves.

Harden’s pairing with Tyrese Maxey worked wonders right off the bat. The Kentucky product feasted off open looks following his arrival in Philly and has converted 45.3% of his 3-pointers and 49.5% of his field goals through 68 career games with him. Edwards often has all eyes on him as his team’s only consistent threat off the dribble. Harden’s creation skills could free him up for fewer forced shots and improve Minnesota’s offensive flow as a whole. Then there’s Karl-Anthony Towns, who’s thrived as one of the league’s premier shooting bigs in recent years. Harden remains a pick-and-roll savant capable of finding KAT spot-up opportunities and picking out the more limited Rudy Gobert easy lobs for finishes around the rim.

Minnesota also has the personnel to make up for Harden’s defensive shortcomings. Jaden McDaniels is growing as one of the NBA’s up-and-coming 3-and-D players. His effort, athleticism, and anticipation make him a great fit with Harden while Gobert protects the paint. Those two and Edwards were part of the five-man Timberwolves lineup that boasted a defensive rating of 104.6 over 260 minutes (17 games) last season.

The 76ers nearly toppled the new-look Milwaukee Bucks in their season opener and could get this deal done in return for Mike Conley, Kyle Anderson, and some draft capital. Getting some veteran support is better than nothing for Philly and a difference maker at point guard could mean the world to the Timberwolves in a Western Conference that’s teeming with star power toward the top.

Miami Heat
The Miami Heat missed out on the Damian Lillard sweepstakes and it’s clear that they could still use an upgrade at point guard. Harden appears to be the only star on the market and Miami shouldn’t have to fork up as much as they would have for Lillard. The Heat have enough moveable assets and talent to make a deal work.

The 76ers would probably like to start someone other than De’Anthony Melton with Maxey in the backcourt and 37-year-old Kyle Lowry probably isn’t the answer. That’s where 23-year-old Tyler Herro enters the conversation. The young duo would be a hindrance on defense together but have loads of offensive versatility as scorers and facilitators. Caleb Martin and draft capital could help sweeten that deal, as breakout performance from last year’s playoffs was eye-opening. He’s a competent scorer who can defend multiple positions and help make up for the fact that P.J. Tucker gives the 76ers little to nothing on offense.

This deal would bring Miami a more dynamic player at point guard and give him an environment where he can be on the court with at least one All-Defensive caliber player at all times. Shooters like Duncan Robinson and Kevin Love can provide Harden with efficient outlets on the perimeter. Miami has exceeded expectations in the postseason for years but could use a third piece to take them over the top. Could Harden be the answer?

There was a time when James Harden was worth the headache. When he was worth dedicating your entire offense to at the expense of everyone and everything else. When his scoring, playmaking and foul drawing were so dominant that you could put up with his pathetic defense.

That time has passed.

That’s not me saying that. That’s the market saying that. Only one team appears to even vaguely want him, the Clippers, and even they only want him if they can get him off the clearance rack. Hell, the Sixers didn’t let the guy on their team plane, and they nearly went into Milwaukee and knocked off a Bucks team that is arguably the championship favorite anyway.

Sure, it’s one game. The first game of the season, no less. It means nothing in the grand scheme of things. But there was no way to watch Tyrese Maxey in that game and think anything other than the Sixers, at this point, simply don’t need Harden any more than anyone else does.

“Maxey is ready. He is ready,” Doc Rivers, who of course coached Maxey and the Sixers for the past three seasons, recently said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “I think if [the 76ers] make the right trade [for Harden], and allow Maxey to be Maxey, he’s ready, and that makes them a really good team.”

It begs the question: What is the right trade? At this point, the answer might be any trade. Daryl Morey isn’t a give-in kind of guy, but given that you could argue that Maxey isn’t just an adequate Harden replacement, but actually the better current player, perhaps the return package doesn’t need to reflect the value Harden is really only worth in name.

If Morey wants to free his team of the drama and let it move forward with a fair chance of competing with a clear head, there’s a legitimate addition-by-subtraction case to be made here. Harden is still good, but he’s not doing anything anymore, for the most part, that is irreplaceable. He’s surely not the only point guard in the NBA who can score 20 points a night or drag defenders with him and hit a roller or kick to a shooter.

Hell, even at his peak, Harden was never as good a 3-point shooter as Maxey, and he has never offered anything close to Maxey’s full-court, straight-line, or even corner-turning speed.

Against Milwaukee, Maxey put up 31 points and eight assists. He didn’t commit a single turnover. He made three 3-pointers and got to the free-throw line 10 times. He lived in the paint. Drew defenders and dropped short-roll passes to Joel Embiid. Created an ocean of space on his step-backs.

Tyrese Maxey looks like an All-Star pic.twitter.com/Vqm1es7gIj

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 27, 2023
Nobody is saying Maxey is, or ever will be, the force Harden was at his peak (he’ll never be the playmaker that Harden was or even still is today, to say nothing of the volume shooting/scoring). But this had the look of a peak Harden performance, and if you’re playing the “it’s only one game” card, you clearly haven’t been watching Maxey these past three years.

This was a performance in keeping with his immense talent and career trajectory. The Sixers have seen this from him before. A lot, actually. But they’ve never been able to fully utilize, or benefit from, Maxey’s abilities with Harden commanding so much control of the ball and offense.

Rivers, in the aforementioned interview with Simmons, said as much: “Sam Cassell [former Sixers assistant coach] said it to me all last year: ‘[Maxey is] ready now, but you know, we’ve got two guys.”

Do you know how you fix a two-guy problem? Get rid of one of them. It’s going to require Morey to swallow a little pride and accept what he surely believes to be a lowball offer, but again, it’s addition by subtraction if nothing else. Give this team, and Maxey, an honest chance. They deserve it more than whatever it is that Harden thinks he deserves.

Following Kobe Bryant’s tragic death in 2020, murals that celebrated the memory of the five-time NBA Champion were created around the world. However, one particular mural that depicted Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, was recently in danger of being taken down, according to USA Today.

Painted by Louie Palsino, the mural is located in Los Angeles and sits less than 1,500 feet south of Crypto.com Arena, the home of the Lakers. Its existence was in jeopardy after the landlord of the building had ordered it to be removed. The occupants of the building, Hardcore Fitness, pleaded with the community to help keep the Bryant mural up. Thankfully, with the help of 2K Games and others, the mural will stay up as a landmark in the community.

On Sept. 14, Hardcore Fitness owner Cecilia Moran stated in an Instagram post that the mural was in danger of being removed. This led to an online petition to keep the mural and it has received more than 90,000 signatures to date, including support from Vanessa Bryant.

In meetings with her landlord, Moran received an extended deadline through October in order to get rid of the mural. In an appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Monday, 2K Games head of lifestyle and content marketing Ronnie Singh, better known as Ronnie 2K, announced that the video game company had reached an agreement with Moran’s landlord to keep the mural from getting taken down.

Singh even held a rededication ceremony near the mural on Thursday and told fans about how important the company felt that the mural was. Ironically enough, Bryant is the cover athlete of the NBA 2K24 video game, which was released last month.

“For weeks and months, people have lined up in front of this beautiful mural, taking pictures. For us to be a part of saving this thing is just a celebration of basketball,” Singh said. “This one means a lot to our community. It’s basketball-related. It’s Kobe Bryant. Our cover star for NBA 2K24 is Kobe Bryant. It made sense for us to get involved. We felt a moral responsibility to jump in and say, ‘We want to make a difference.’ Not words, but actions.”

The mural will be kept up until at least Oct. 26, 2024, and 2K Games will aim to extend that agreement.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons will miss the next four to six weeks after an MRI revealed that he has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb, the team announced on Friday. Simons will undergo surgery to address the issue in the coming days.

Simons sustained the injury during the Blazers’ season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, though exactly when is unclear. He was still in the game late in the fourth quarter, and didn’t check out for good until both teams emptied their bench in what was a 24-point game at the time. Simons finished that game with 18 points and four assists on 6 of 14 from the field.

The sixth-year guard is coming off a career-season in which he averaged 21.1 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 37.7% from 3-point land, and made good on the four-year, $100 million extension he signed in 2022. He was expected to take on even bigger role this season after Damian Lillard’s departure in a blockbuster trade, but that will now obviously have to wait.

Given the timeline, Simons is set to be out for at least 16 games, but will likely miss even more. While he probably wasn’t going win any major end-of-season awards, he may have been in the mix for Most Improved Player. In any case, it’s worth noting that he is the first player to be taken out of contention due to injury. Under the new rules, players must appear in 65 games to be eligible for major honors, and Simons will now not reach that mark.

In the short-term, the biggest ripple effect for the Blazers is that No. 3 overall pick, and future face of the franchise Scoot Henderson will have more opportunity and responsibility than anyone was expecting this early in his career. He already played 35 minutes in the season opener, so his actual playing time won’t increase, but he’ll have the ball in his hands more often and will need to be more aggressive looking for his own shot.

Looking further ahead, Simons lengthy absence likely ensures that the Blazers will have one of the worst records in the league this season. They were already crushed on opening night by the Clippers and will now be without their best shot creator for nearly 25% of the season. That might be for the best long-term, especially if they have some more lottery luck, but it could make this a long winter in the Pacific Northwest.

The Cleveland Browns were overwhelmed by the division rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, crumbling 28-3 in fifth-round rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s first career start. The rookie threw three interceptions and was sacked four times while totaling 121 yards on 19-of-36 passing. However, Cleveland didn’t find out until pregame warmups if starter Deshaun Watson was going to play as he was working through a shoulder injury.

“We listed him as questionable,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said after the game Sunday. “He didn’t throw all week, and we had to get to the game, that was going to be the first time he was going to throw to see, ultimately, how he felt.”

The uncertainty stemmed from Watson being medically cleared, according to Stefanski, but the 28-year-old quarterback didn’t feel like he was good enough to suit up on Sunday.

“He knows his body,” Stefanski said. “He’s played through serious pain before. Very, very serious injuries. It wasn’t a matter of pain tolerance or anything. He just did not feel like he had his full faculties.”

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Had Cleveland won the game, they would have had sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Instead, they share second place with the Pittsburgh Steelers after a 2-2 start. Thompson-Robinson showed some flashes in the preseason, but it’s clear that in order to win this year, Watson provides the Browns with their best chance to do so.

The 2023 NFL season is off and running, and the “Monday Night Football” contests have already provided plenty of drama during the opening three weeks.

In Week 1, the Jets lost Aaron Rodgers to a season-ending injury yet stunned the Bills in overtime with a walk-off punt return touchdown. In Week 2, dominating defensive efforts from the Saints and Steelers resulted in division wins over the Panthers and Browns, respectively. And in Week 3, the Eagles ran past the Buccaneers and the Bengals got their first win with a gritty performance against the Rams.

The rest of the Monday night lineup leaves a lot to be desired aside from Eagles-Chiefs (Week 11) and Ravens-49ers (Week 16), but it’s set to look a lot better down the stretch thanks to flex scheduling, which extended to “Monday Night Football” starting this year. That gives the NFL the ability to move Sunday games to Monday night and vise versa starting in Week 13, granted the leagues makes those switches at least 12 days beforehand.

The New York Giants host the Seattle Seahawks at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night Football to close out the NFL Week 4 schedule. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET. New York running back Saquon Barkley, the highest-priced option in the NFL DFS player pool, is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury. With Barkley unlikely to play, quarterbacks Geno Smith and Daniel Jones are likely to be among the most popular NFL DFS picks for Monday Night Football. Should you target Smith or Jones in your NFL DFS strategy? Or would it make more sense to build your lineups around PPR stalwarts like Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf, and Darren Waller.

Before making any NFL DFS picks for Seahawks vs. Giants on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, be sure to check out the NFL DFS lineup advice, strategy and player stacks from SportsLine NFL daily Fantasy expert Jimmie Kaylor.

Kaylor is a NFL and DFS expert for SportsLine, who opened the 2022 NFL season by winning DraftKings’ NFL Showdown Thursday Kickoff Millionaire contest. He edged out over 355,000 other entrants in the contest and also has multiple five-figure tournament wins on his DFS resume. Kaylor, who cashed big all season in 2022, has covered the NFL and college football for over a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America, and his background as a former college and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks.

Kaylor hit on epic NFL DFS picks all season in 2022. He was all over Travis Kelce’s four-touchdown performance against the Raiders on Monday Night Football, Kirk Cousins’ 460-yard, four-TD performance on Thanksgiving Day, and T.J. Hockenson’s 13 catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns in Week 15.

In the Week 2 Eagles vs. Vikings Thursday Night Football matchup Kaylor was all over Justin Jefferson (11-159), D’Andre Swift (175-1), DeVonta Smith (4-132-1), and T.J. Hockenson (7-66-2). Anyone who followed his picks cashed in big.

Now, Kaylor has turned his attention to the Week 4 Seahawks vs. Giants matchup on Monday Night Football and just locked in his top daily Fantasy football picks. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.

Top NFL DFS picks for Seahawks vs. Giants on MNF
One of Kaylor’s top NFL DFS picks for Monday night is Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III. The former Michigan State standout burst onto the NFL scene as a rookie in 2022, rushing for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns. Walker has gotten off to a strong start in 2023, producing four touchdowns and 200 total yards of offense over the last two weeks. Kaylor is expecting another highly productive night for Walker against the Giants on Monday Night Football.

“Kenneth Walker III is one of the top young running backs in the league, and he will be facing a Giants defense that is statistically one of the worst defenses in the NFL against the run. Walker averages 4.3 yards per carry, and New York allows 138 rushing yards per game. I expect those numbers to carry over and lead to a highly productive game for Walker on Monday night,” Kaylor told SportsLine.

Part of Kaylor’s MNF DFS strategy also includes rostering Giants quarterback Daniel Jones. The former first-round pick out of Duke has gotten off to a rocky start to the 2023 season, but was one of the most productive fantasy quarterbacks in the NFL in 2022. Jones’ dual-threat ability adds another avenue to fantasy scoring and Kaylor expects that to be a factor on MNF.

“Daniel Jones has dual-threat ability, which is huge from a DFS perspective. With Saquon Barkley likely sidelined, the Giants will have no choice but to lean heavily on Jones on Monday night. I expect Jones to be the highest-scoring fantasy player on the New York side,” Kaylor said. You can see the rest of Kaylor’s NFL DFS picks here.

Week 4 brought lots of NFL action, from the Bills and Dolphins’ shootout to Justin Fields’ historic resurgence against the Broncos. But Sunday’s slate also brought another wave of big-name injuries. Here’s a look at some of the notable names to go down:

The Chargers’ QB suffered a fractured left (non-throwing) middle finger during Sunday’s win over the Raiders. According to NFL Media, he’s not expected to miss any time after the Chargers return from their Week 5 bye. Herbert himself doesn’t seem too worried about it, joking Monty Python-style that the issue, “‘Tis but a scratch, just a flesh wound.”

The Steelers’ struggling signal-caller suffered a knee injury on a failed fourth-down try in the third quarter. He was helped off by trainers and immediately replaced by backup Mitchell Trubisky. He had guided just 93 net passing yards while throwing his fourth interception in as many games before exiting. Pittsburgh ruled him out shortly afterward. Pickett is dealing with a bone bruise in his knee and could sideline him this week, per NFL Media. The team reportedly isn’t ruling him out for this week, but could choose to hold him out until after their Week 6 bye.

Four games into his redemption tour following a serious 2022 knee injury, Williams was held to zero yards on two carries against the Bears before leaving with a hip injury. He was quickly ruled out and replaced by Jaleel McLaughlin and Samaje Perine. According to ESPN, Williams injured his hip flexor and is not expected to miss much if any time.

The Raiders’ star wideout was ruled questionable to return due to a shoulder injury suffered during Las Vegas’ third drive against the Chargers. He walked to the locker room under his own power and later returned to the game, aiding his team’s comeback effort in what ended up as a 24-17 defeat. Adams revealed his shoulder isn’t feeling the greatest postgame.

“Definitely does not feel good right now,” Adams said postgame, per NFL Media. Adams said he had to “nut it up” to return for the second half. Fortunately for the Raiders, Adams has a longer lead-up to their next game since they will host the receiver’s first NFL home, the Green Bay Packers, on “Monday Night Football” in Week 5.

Baker Mayfield’s top target secured three passes for 40 yards before suffering a hamstring injury against the Saints. The longtime standout, who’s made a strong case for a new contract early in his age-30 campaign, was ruled out soon afterward. Bucs coach Todd Bowles said after the game “He’s just tweaked it right now. We’ll see how serious it is or isn’t once they run some more tests on it.”

The Bengals can’t really afford anymore bad news on offense, but Higgins managed just two catches for 19 yards against the Titans before exiting the eventual loss with a rib injury. Now, Higgins is said to have suffered a rib fracture that could keep him off the field for a while, according to NFL Media.

The Dolphins’ most accomplished blocker suffered a knee injury in Miami’s shootout with the rival Bills and was ruled out at halftime, with Kendall Lamm taking over at left tackle. In his 11-year NFL career, Armstead has yet to play a full season.

The Patriots’ top pass rusher left New England’s blowout loss to the Cowboys early in the fourth quarter after appearing to hurt his arm. Judon suffered a torn biceps tendon, per reports, and will be out indefinitely, per ESPN.

The Bills’ Pro Bowl cornerback suffered what appeared to be a non-contact leg injury in the third quarter against the Dolphins, requiring a cart to exit to the locker room. White previously missed 17 combined games from 2021-2022 due to an ACL tear. The Bills announced White suffered a torn Achilles, and will miss the remainder of the year.

New England’s first round rookie is out indefinitely after suffering a dislocated shoulder during the loss to the Cowboys and is undergoing further testing, according to ESPN. The injury occurred on a five-yard run by Tony Pollard where Gonzalez seemed to land awkwardly on that shoulder. He was checked out in the blue medical tent before departing to the locker room.

After the New York Jets’ 23-20 defeat on “Sunday Night Football” against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night, Jets head coach Robert Saleh was tight-lipped on his opinion of how the final drive was officiated in light of a couple controversial calls. Trailing by three, Gang Green’s defense was in an advantageous situation with the Chiefs facing a third-and-23 with just over six minutes to play. Reigning NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes scrambled downfield for a gain of 25 after having an extended amount of time in the pocket. Despite the possibility that the Kansas City offensive line may have held Jets edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II, no call was made.

Watch how long Jermaine Johnson (11) gets held on this play with no call 😂 #KCvsNYJ
pic.twitter.com/IB5FniTFh0

— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) October 2, 2023
Just a few minutes later, the Chiefs found themselves in another third-and-forever situation. On a third-and-20 with 4:29 to play, Mahomes’ pass to receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was intercepted by Jets cornerback Michael Carter II. However, the takeaway was taken away after a defensive holding penalty was called on All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.

They called this holding on Sauce Gardner…

Thoughts?

pic.twitter.com/dVGyOrb5Jo

— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) October 2, 2023
After reviewing both plays overnight, Saleh felt comfortable unleashing his frustration.

“It was kind of a bizarre last drive, a series of unfortunate events,” Saleh said Monday. “It was a seven-and-a-half-minute drive that was aided by non-calls, calls. It was just bizarre. I don’t know if I’ve ever been part of a drive like that to end a football game, especially a game like that on national television. So, it’s unfortunate. I’m still trying to understand what we could’ve done better and we’re still trying to figure out how we can coach things better. I’ll get clarification [on the Sauce penalty] and we’ll go from there.”

This quote matches his on-field emotions during the game in which he displayed visible frustrations throughout the contest.

Robert Saleh went through all the emotions Sunday night 😳 #KCvsNYJ

📺 NBC pic.twitter.com/60EbZGcqO3

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 2, 2023
The Jets have another emotional game coming up in Week 5 with a trip to Denver to face Sean Payton’s Broncos. Current Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was Payton’s predecessor during a 5-12 season in which Hackett was the coach for their 4-11 start. This offseason, Payton called Hackett’s tenure “one of the worst coaching jobs in the history of the NFL.”

The NFL has flexed the Week 6 matchup between the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead of a 1 p.m. ET kickoff, the game has been flexed to 4:25 p.m.

Both teams’ surprising starts undoubtedly led to this matchup being flexed. Tampa Bay is 3-1 and currently in first place in the NFC South division. Detroit is also 3-1 through four games and currently resides in first place in the NFC North division.

The Buccaneers’ fast start can largely be attributed to their defense that is currently seventh in the NFL in points allowed. Tampa Bay has also received steady quarterback play from Baker Mayfield, who has completed nearly 70% of his passes with seven touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Detroit currently boasts the NFL’s eighth-ranked scoring offense after the unit put up 34 points in last Thursday night’s win in Green Bay. Like the Buccaneers, the Lions are receiving solid play from their quarterback and former first-round pick Jared Goff, who like Mayfield has completed nearly 70% of his passes with more touchdown passes (six) than interceptions (three).

Tampa Bay is currently entering its bye week, while the Lions will host the currently winless Carolina Panthers this Sunday. The Buccaneers are hoping to have perennial 1,000-yard receiver Mike Evans back for Week 6 after he tweaked his hamstring during Sunday’s win over the Saints.