Heat suspend Jimmy Butler, yet again; Duke’s Cooper Flagg has another monster game

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🏀 Good morning to all, but especially to …

COOPER FLAGG AND THE DUKE BLUE DEVILS

Cooper Flagg is at it again. Two days after a 24-7-6 night in a come-from-behind victory over Wake Forest, Flagg put on a clinic in the second half of Duke’s 74-64 win over North Carolina State at Cameron Indoor Stadium Monday night. The freshman phenom scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half and was integral in the Blue Devils’ 19-0 run.

Flagg had another tremendous transition dunk, though not quite on the level of that Pittsburgh poster throw down back on Jan. 7. The dunk aside, Flagg is averaging 23.5 points through 10 conference games. If you’re wondering how that stacks up against another Duke great, Zion Williamson averaged 22.6 points against ACC opponents during his freshman season back in 2018-19.

There’s a lot of ball left this season, but through 20 games No. 2 Duke (18-2) is in a position to compete for its first national championship in 10 years. The Blue Devils’ only other Final Four appearance since then came in 2022, but if Flagg and Co. keep this going they could very well find themselves in San Antonio in the first weekend in April. 

👍 Honorable mentions

🏀 And not such a good morning for …

JIMMY BUTLER (AGAIN)

For the third time this month, the Miami Heat suspended Jimmy Butler. This time, it’s indefinite, and the Feb. 6 trade deadline opens up another can of worms.

• This suspension stemmed from Butler walking out of a shootaround Monday after being told Haywood Highsmith would replace him in the starting lineup. Miami called it “a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services.”
• The suspension is for a minimum of five games.
• Butler was suspended two games last week after missing a team flight. He was suspended seven games in early January for “multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team over the course of the season and particularly the last several weeks” as he pushed for a trade.

As we have discussed — and several times, at that — the Suns are top hypothetical landing spot for Butler, but they’d need to move Bradley Beal, and that’s proving to be no easy task considering Beal’s contract.

What happens next? Sam Quinn outlined six different outcomes for the latest chapter in this drama, including …

• Quinn: “Butler makes peace with the Heat, now or later — Let’s say Feb. 6 comes and goes without a trade. Is reconciliation possible? Well… there’s at least some precedent. Retracted trade requests used to be a bit more common. Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen and Kobe Bryant stand out as stars who have tried to force trades, failed and ultimately returned to their teams. … Nobody benefits from another year of this mess. Butler has to prove to future employers that he is capable of playing nice. Pat Riley needs to show stars he might one day recruit that Heat Culture is not inherently unfriendly to players”

👎 Not so honorable mentions

🏀 Lakers trade deadline preview: Another move coming?

Butler is the main trade deadline story, but there are plenty of other trade candidates (Sam ranked 70 of them) and potential buyers.

We don’t know where the Lakers fall. Los Angeles, currently fifth in the West, has already made one trade, bringing in Dorian Finney-Smith, a halfway-in, halfway-out move. Are they all-in on pushing for a run? That’s the big question, Sam writes, and if the answer is “yes,” one option is …

• Quinn: “If there’s a compromise candidate out there, it’s one the Lakers have come close to adding in the past. Myles Turner is an impending free agent. Re-signing him, under the current salary structure, would likely push the Pacers into the luxury tax, which they are unlikely to pay. … Turner is a viable 3-point shooter. His rim-protection has declined in recent years, but he’s playing on a team with very little point-of-attack defense. The Lakers don’t have much either, but having Davis nearby helps a great deal. At the very least he could take the matchups Davis wants to avoid.”

🏈 College football first-year coach grades

A year ago, the college football coaching carousel was sent spinning into orbit by Nick Saban‘s retirement. That led to new coaches in six places, including, of course, at Alabama. Now, David Cobb is handing out grades for every first-year coach, and we have to start with Kalen DeBoer.

• Cobb: “There are scenarios in which a 9-3 regular season record would have earned DeBoer a ‘B’ grade. But losing to Vanderbilt and falling 24-3 to a bad Oklahoma team when your CFP hopes are at stake is inexcusable. Topping it off with an offensively lifeless bowl loss to Michigan made for a sour ending. Grade: C-“

Something tells me Crimson Tide faithful would give him an “F,” but I think a “C-” is fair, and the demands for a much better second year are fair, too.

Two first-year coaches got an “A+,” including one who kept Alabama out of the CFP.

• “Curt Cignetti inherited a 3-9 team and led it to the College Football Playoff and the highest win total in program history. Repeating that success against a more difficult 2025 schedule will be tough, but Cignetti has the Hoosiers on a promising trajectory.”
• “Fran Brown guided Syracuse to its third 10-win season of the 21st century and a No. 21 final CFP ranking. A 42-38 upset of No. 8 Miami highlighted the campaign as the Orange ranked No. 1 nationally in passing offense at 370 yards per game.”

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

🏀 No. 12 Kentucky at No. 8 Tennessee (M), 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Lakers at 76ers, 7:30 p.m. on TNT
🏀 Oklahoma at No. 13 Texas A&M (M), 9 p.m. on SEC Network
🏀 Bucks at Trail Blazers, 10 p.m. on TNT/truTV