NBA Notes: Kings, Jalen Duren, Hawks, Buddy Hield, Blazers

Kings

The Jalen Duren situation in Detroit may be worth watching beyond Detroit. The Kings may have a say, too.

Duren remains a restricted free agent, and ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently described negotiations between the All-Star center and the Pistons as “awfully nasty,” while wondering whether the process could have lasting consequences.

“Sometimes these negotiations, when they are ugly like this, can have long-lasting consequences,” MacMahon said on The Hoop Collective podcast.

That brings us back to the Kings. As Logan Struck of NBA on SI noted, Sacramento showed serious interest in Duren earlier in free agency and even met with him. The Pistons weren’t interested in discussing a sign-and-trade, essentially shutting that door.

But perhaps only temporarily. Struck suggested Sacramento should continue monitoring the situation, particularly if Duren ultimately accepts his qualifying offer and becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Kings could have considerably more financial flexibility by then, with Zach LaVine and De’Andre Hunter potentially coming off the books.

Duren, 22, averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds last season while earning All-Star and All-NBA honors.

Nothing suggests Detroit is suddenly prepared to trade him. Still, “awfully nasty” negotiations are generally enough to keep other teams interested.

Hawks

The Hawks suddenly have a lot of bodies competing for rotation minutes. Perhaps too many.

Rohan Roman of NBA on SI suggested veteran guard Buddy Hield could be the odd man out and that Atlanta should explore trading him.

It’s not difficult to see the argument. Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, CJ McCollum and rookie Kingston Flemings seemingly sit ahead of Hield in the backcourt pecking order, with Devin Carter and Aaron Wiggins also needing minutes.

Hield appeared in only 21 minutes for Atlanta last season and is due $9.6 million this year. Roman suggested the Hawks could look for an expiring contract in return and find Hield a team with a greater need for shooting.

Hield is coming off the worst 3-point shooting season of his career at 34.9 percent, but he’s still a career 39.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc.

In other words, there should still be teams willing to find out whether there’s some shooting left in there.

Trail Blazers

ESPN isn’t predicting a massive jump for the new-look Trail Blazers. In fact, it’s predicting exactly one more win.

ESPN’s early forecast has Portland finishing 43-39 after going 42-40 last season. That would leave the Blazers in the Western Conference play-in mix despite an offseason that brought Ja Morant to Portland and the return of Damian Lillard after he missed last season while recovering from an Achilles injury.

Jeremy Brener of NBA on SI wondered whether ESPN may be underselling Portland a bit, suggesting something in the 45-to-50-win neighborhood could be attainable if Morant and Lillard are healthy and productive.

There are obviously plenty of variables. Micah Nori is taking over as coach, Morant has appeared in only 79 games over the past three seasons, and Lillard is coming back from a major injury.

So 43 wins may look conservative on paper. Then again, in the West, conservative sometimes isn’t such a bad place to start.