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Bulls

MEXICO CITY (AP) &mdash; A reggaeton song by Puerto Rican artist Daddy Yankee is blasting through the Arena Ciudad de M&eacute;xico with the lights out while fans wave their cell phones and dance to the rhythm of the music.
Then comes a drumbeat followed by a loud &ldquo;Ca-pi-ta-nes, Ca-pi-ta-nes&rdquo; chant.
Welcome to NBA G League action in Mexico City. And if fans get their wish, the atmosphere at Capitanes&rsquo; games will become the staple for home games of an actual NBA team in the city. It&rsquo;s a longshot but that hasn&rsquo;t dampened the optimism.
When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver visited Mexico in December, he said the Capitanes would give the league a great opportunity to see if Mexico could be considered for a franchise in the future.
So far, it appears the organization is on the right path.
Though the Capitanes lost a three-way tiebreaker and missed the G League playoffs &mdash; the finals begin Tuesday &mdash; they provided some answers to off-court concerns in their first season in Mexico City.
Following their inaugural G League season in Fort Worth, Texas, due to the pandemic, the Capitanes settled into the state-of-the-art Arena Ciudad de Mexico &mdash; a glass-clad facility located in the north part of the city that cost $300 million to build and opened in 2012.
Attendance was a concern, but team president Rodrigo Serratos said the Capitanes top the G League in selling individual tickets and rank fifth in total attendance despite their home arena not being located near downtown Mexico City.
&ldquo;We have a big arena, so we are working with a small set-up, but we have been averaging around 65% of its capacity,&rdquo; Serratos told The Associated Press. &ldquo;So far, it&acute;s been pure magic.&rdquo;
There also are safety concerns about having a permanent team in Mexico City. As recently as Monday, four people were killed in what is believed to have been drug gang-related violence. The killings came less than a week after a U.S. tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos.
The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert last month warning travelers to &ldquo;exercise increased caution,&rdquo; especially after dark, at Mexico&rsquo;s Caribbean beach resorts like Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, which have been plagued by drug gang violence in the past.
Alfonzo McKinnie, who played for four NBA teams before coming to the Capitanes, had said before the season ended that he feels comfortable in the city.
&ldquo;Everybody I know from players to family and friends asked me about safety, but we live in Polanco one of the nicest parts of Mexico City and I tell them we are as safe as one can be,&rdquo; McKinnie said.
Several players live in Polanco, one the wealthiest neighborhoods in Mexico City with some of the best restaurants, luxury hotels and expensive condos. The area is also one of the safest in the capital, with a strong police presence day and night. It is where NFL, MLB and NBA teams stay whenever they visit Mexico to play regular season games.
Serratos said McKinnie, along with Kenneth Faried and Gary Clark, are enjoying their experience with the Capitanes while hoping for another NBA opportunity.
&ldquo;All the American players said that they did not expect to find a country like this. The feedback that we are getting from them is that they are very happy and want to keep playing here,&rdquo; said Rodrigo Serratos, the team president. &ldquo;The city offers a lot of things; we are a rich country in experiences for foreigners.&rdquo;
Since 1992, when the Houston Rockets played the Dallas Mavericks, Mexico has hosted 30 NBA games out the 117 that the NBA has played outside of the U.S. and Canada in its history.
Silver has said having a G League team in Mexico City gives the league an opportunity to better understand the challenges that come with dealing with the local culture, a different language and all the other circumstances around possibly having an NBA franchise in the city one day.
Soccer is still king among sports in the country, but there are more basketball courts than soccer fields in Mexico and the fans have shown in the past how loyal they are. Before the Capitanes, the Mexico City Aztecs played in the defunct Continental Basketball Association in 1994 and averaged 9,000 fans a game.
&ldquo;You can call it love, passion or solidarity &mdash; any of those adjectives describe what the basketball culture in this country is, and that is what the NBA has found here,&rdquo; said Raul Zarraga, the director of the NBA office in Mexico.
Besides the reggaeton music that booms during game breaks, there is a fan who brings a drum to cheer for the Capitanes. &ldquo;The Mexicans are very passionate with sports; they are very involved and noisy,&rdquo; Serratos said, adding that the team had to get a special permit from the NBA for the fan&rsquo;s drum. &ldquo;It is a different atmosphere here than in any other G League venue.&rdquo;
Despite the early success of the Capitanes, fans should not expect to see an NBA expansion team in Mexico City anytime soon. The last time the league expanded was in 2004 with a franchise in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before that, the league expanded in 1995 with two teams in Canada.
Other cities, including Las Vegas and Seattle, also could be ahead of Mexico City when and if the NBA considers an expansion in the future.
Until then, fans can continue to party with the Capitanes.

if fans get their wish, the atmosphere at Capitanes’ games will become the staple for home games of an actual NBA team.

NBA in Mexico: G League Capitanes hope they're laying foundation

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls signed forward/center Tristan Thompson on Saturday night and released forward Alfonzo McKinnie.
Terms of Thompson's deal weren't disclosed.
Thompson averaged 6.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 34 games this season for Sacramento and Indiana. In 707 games in 11 NBA seasons with Cleveland, Boston, Sacramento and Indiana, he has averaged 9.1 points and 8.5 rebounds.
Thompson was traded from Sacramento to Indiana on Feb. 8 in the deal that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Kings, then waived by the Pacers on Thursday.
McKinnie averaged 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 17 games this season for Chicago.
The Bulls are tied for the Eastern Conference lead with Miami.

The Chicago Bulls signed forward/center Tristan Thompson on Saturday night and released forward Alfonzo McKinnie.

Bulls sign Tristan Thompson, release Alfonzo McKinnie

WASHINGTON (AP) &mdash; DeMar DeRozan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the second straight game to give the Chicago Bulls a 120-119 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
Kyle Kuzma&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds to play gave Washington a 119-117 lead, until DeRozan beat the Wizards in the same way he beat Indiana on Friday night.
DeRozan finished with 28 points and Zach LaVine had 35 points to help the Bulls to their seventh straight win, which is their longest streak since Dec. 18-29, 2014.
According to BasketballReference.com, DeRozan became the first player in NBA history to hit buzzer-beaters on consecutive days.
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&ldquo;It&rsquo;s amazing, especially doing it on the road,&rdquo; DeRozan said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if I&rsquo;m dreaming or if it&rsquo;s real right now.
&ldquo;You work your butt off and you understand that if you&rsquo;re in those positions, try to capitalize on them the best way you can because you&rsquo;re going to have games where you miss some.&rdquo;
The Wizards led nearly the whole game, outscoring Chicago 72-30 in points in the paint.
&ldquo;He just made a heck of a play. He was defended pretty well,&rdquo; Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just tough. It&rsquo;s tough to lose a game like that.&rdquo;
Kuzma scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds, while Bradley Beal had 27 points and a career-high 16 assists in his first start at point guard. Beal also passed the 14,000 point mark.
Midway through the second quarter, the Wizards were called for a technical foul for too many players. Alize Johnson, one of five players on 10-day contracts, was the sixth player on the court.
TIP-INS
Bulls: F Tyler Cook suffered a sprained left ankle early in the second quarter and did not return. &hellip; F Javonte Green was out with a right adductor strain. &hellip; Interim coach Chris Fleming said that he hopes G Lonzo Ball and F Alonzo McKinnie, who were in health and safety protocols, could return to action early next week. &hellip; Coach Billy Donovan addressed the team over Zoom on Saturday and told them how proud he was with Friday night&rsquo;s win. Donovan could return from health and safety protocols on Monday.
Wizards: Signed G Tremont Waters to a 10-day contract. &hellip; G Brad Wanamaker, who started on Thursday, entered the health and safety protocols. &hellip; Rotation players G Spencer Dinwiddie, F Rui Hachimura, F Montrezl Harrell, G Aaron Holiday and G Raul Neto are still in COVID-19 protocols
DEROZAN&rsquo;S BIG SHOT: DeRozan said he concentrated on the fundamentals before he shot the game-winner.
&ldquo;I wanted to make sure my feet were behind the line,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I wanted to give it a chance to go in.
&ldquo;My shots all night were short. It&rsquo;s tough to play on back-to-backs. I kind of felt it throughout the game.&rdquo;
LaVine shook his head when asked to describe DeRozan.
&ldquo;The dude&rsquo;s incredible,&rdquo; LaVine said. &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t say much more than that&hellip;Thank God we&rsquo;ve got DeMar DeRozan on our team.&rdquo;
BEAL IMPRESSED WITH DEROZAN: Throughout Beal&rsquo;s NBA career, he has marveled at DeRozan.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s what he does,&rdquo; Beal said. &ldquo;He takes tough shots and he makes tough shots.&rdquo;
Beal believes the short-handed Wizards simply came up short against a marvelous opponent.
&ldquo;We did everything we possibly could to win, but DeRo just made a crazy shot at the end of the game,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In a way, the shot is demoralizing and takes the energy out of you, but to know that we competed and played hard, we set ourselves up to win, and you feel great about that.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host Orlando on Monday.
Wizards: Host Charlotte on Monday.
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DeMar DeRozan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the second straight game to give the Bulls a 120-119 win over the Wizards on Saturday.

DeRozan beats the buzzer again, giving Bulls 7 straight wins

Are we absolutely sure that Greg Monroe should&rsquo;ve been&nbsp;out of the league&nbsp;prior to Monday night?
May 12, 2019 is the last time we saw Monroe in an NBA game, when he logged fewer than two minutes of play in the Philadelphia 76ers&rsquo; Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals. And while he only logged 9.0 minutes per contest in Philly's 12-game playoff run that spring, he had&nbsp;just&nbsp;been signed on April 4, and played three regular-season games to end the season. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywCh-CFaW2c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">He played pretty well, too</a>.)
But despite averaging 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 51.4% shooting from 2010 to 2019 in 632 career NBA games, Monroe found himself out of the league for over two-and-a-half years until the Minnesota Timberwolves signed him this week. And fresh off the flight, he put up an 11-9-6-2-1 line against his former Boston Celtics.
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The vet hasn&rsquo;t lost a step! Greg Monroe went for 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in his <a href="https://twitter.com/Timberwolves?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Timberwolves</a> debut. This was his first game in the NBA since 2019. 👏 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBACallUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBACallUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/XAiJh53Tw7">pic.twitter.com/XAiJh53Tw7</a>
&mdash; NBA G League (@nbagleague) <a href="https://twitter.com/nbagleague/status/1475679537065349122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 28, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Monroe, by the way, doesn&rsquo;t turn 32 until June, and when we last saw him, he was one month away from turning 29.&nbsp;
On opening night, the average age of an NBA roster&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/lakers-oldest-nba-teams-entering-season/1gvfecopluvy71rmj43y8ezgtf">for 2021-22 was 26.1</a>. Though the number precedes what we&rsquo;ve seen regarding roster reshuffling due to COVID and injuries, the 26.1 median age is the youngest the league has been this century. It&rsquo;s also roughly where we&rsquo;ve been&nbsp;for at least a few seasons.
Ten seasons ago, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2012.html">the average age was 26.7</a>. In 2001-02,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2002.html">we were at 27.4</a>, with five teams hovering around 30 years old on average and only two leveling at 25 or under. Entering the new millennium, <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2000.html">the average was up at 27.8</a>.
Over the last several years, we&rsquo;ve also experienced <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/11/16/21566647/nba-undrafted-alex-caruso-duncan-robinson">a boom in undrafted talent making NBA rosters</a>. Many four-year college players are entering the league between the ages of 22 and 24, occasionally older, which &mdash; along with the continual record amount of one-and-dones &mdash; contributes to what generally is a less-experienced league than what we&rsquo;ve seen previously.
Think about this: You already can&rsquo;t have a &ldquo;Greatest Undrafted NBA Player of All-Time&rdquo; discussion without mentioning Fred VanVleet. And he&rsquo;s one of the many reasons NBA teams keep trying to find those possible diamonds in the rough instead of signing a 30-year-old veteran who's been around. The VanVleet revelation doesn&rsquo;t happen often, and he&rsquo;s also a Toronto Raptor; they don&rsquo;t exactly suck at development. Nevermind that a VanVleet or a Wesley Matthews is rare; if the Sacramento Kings had scooped up Gabe Vincent in 2019, he might be guarding Shane Larkin in the EuroLeague right now instead of Tyrese Maxey or... *checks Dec. 26 notes* ... Hassani Gravett. 
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It&rsquo;s something that magnifies an even larger societal complication &mdash; eliminating much of the middle class in any profession. We&rsquo;re increasingly watching decision-makers seek to hire fewer advanced and/or experienced employees in favor of entry-level labor, or shapeshifting transactions with those of the one percent with little in-between. It has long been reported on, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/03/18/the-pandemic-stalls-growth-in-the-global-middle-class-pushes-poverty-up-sharply/">the gap is continually increasing</a>. The NBA, as a business, isn&rsquo;t much different. Look up your favorite team and see how many guys are on minimum deals or minimum-adjacent (think rookie-wage scale) contracts.
No one with Monroe&rsquo;s career production and resume should&rsquo;ve been out of the whole-ass league by age-29. It&rsquo;s not to say he should&rsquo;ve been on a contender&rsquo;s starting five, or even in a playoff rotation, but out of the NBA entirely? Forced to play (<a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/greg-monroe-1.html">and play well, by the way</a>) elsewhere? In his case, he had been productive in the EuroLeague since leaving the NBA.
(As an aside: In Europe, it&rsquo;s harder to score, rotations are deeper and you don&rsquo;t play as much, so numbers will be lower. Look at <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/players/luka-doncic-1.html">Luka Dončić&rsquo;s MVP 2017-18 season</a> or <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/teams/barcelona/2021.html">Liga ACB champion FC Barcelona&rsquo;s 2020-21 stats</a> for example.)
Jeremy Lin ranted about this last season where, after averaging 19.8 points and 6.4 assists on 51/43/88 splits in the G League during a shortened season, he was the only top-10 G League scorer to <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3161207/coronavirus-omicron-spreads-global-gloom-over-new-years-celebrations?module=perpetual_scroll_2&amp;pgtype=article&amp;campaign=3161207">not earn an NBA 10-day contract</a> last season. The players who did include Henry Ellenson, 24, Justin Harper, 23 at the time, Tyler Cook, 23, Oshae Brissett, 22, and Ignas Brazdeikis, 22.
Lin, 32 then, 33 now, never received an offer, he said.
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❤️ <a href="https://t.co/7socHMLMkH">pic.twitter.com/7socHMLMkH</a>
&mdash; Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) <a href="https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/1394798832542699521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2021</a></blockquote>

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COVID accelerated and exposed <a href="https://time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much of the nationwide economic imbalance</a>, but a deep dive on that is for another discussion. (Etan Thomas, if you&rsquo;re reading this...)
One of the only good things to come from this particular COVID surge is the temporary <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/the-four-10day-veterans-who-can-revitalize-their-nba-careers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revitalization of some NBA careers</a>. It includes James Ennis, Lance Stephenson, Joe Johnson, Langston Galloway and Monroe, along with Alfonzo McKinnie (<a href="https://www.latinorebels.com/2021/12/06/prosportslatinamerica/">Mexico&rsquo;s own &hellip; kinda!</a>), who is the first 10-day to full-timer this season.
In more recent days, <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/10daytracker">we&rsquo;ve seen Al-Farouq Aminu, Brandon Knight and Darren Collison get deals</a>, too. But plenty of the guys we&rsquo;re seeing get these calls probably should&rsquo;ve been in the league longer than they were over some of the undrafted guys who probably aren&rsquo;t true NBA players. Even if they don&rsquo;t play much, the locker room presence and leadership, if you find the right veteran, is priceless.
But hey, <a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2021/12/salaries-for-10-day-contracts-in-2021-22.html">it saves a billionaire money</a> to go entry-level instead, and I&rsquo;m over hear bitching about it on the internet during the holiday week while trying to recover Dr. Dre&rsquo;s phone in the new GTA V: The Contract, so what do I know?

Bryan Fonseca dives into how veterans should hold more importance in the NBA over younger players on smaller contracts.

NBA teams need to show more respect to veterans, and we're seeing why

ATLANTA (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 35 points, Zach LaVine added 30 and the Chicago Bulls won their fourth straight game, beating the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 130-118 on Monday night.
Cam Reddish finished with 33 points and Trae Young, cleared from health and safety protocols about 90 minutes before tipoff, returned to the starting lineup and scored 29 for Atlanta in the first game of a home-and-home set with the Bulls.
DeRozan was 14 for 20 from the field. LaVine, in his second game back after missing 15 days in protocols, went 11 for 21, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Nikola Vucevic got his 14th double-double with 24 points and 17 rebounds.
“We’re the veteran leaders of this team," DeRozan said. “That’s our job. We’ve got a couple of key guys out, and it was up to us to step up and play big, especially against an Atlanta Hawks team that was going to come out and play hard. The three main guys did what they were supposed to do and everybody else fell in line." 
Vucevic banked in a 3 with 3:15 remaining to make it a 10-point lead and essentially put the game out of reach after DeRozan’s 15-foot fadeaway jumper padded the lead at 126-116. Coby White’s 3 from the left corner ended it with 1:19 left.
Matt Thomas’ 3 gave the Bulls their biggest lead at 16 points in the closing minutes of the third, and the Hawks never really threatened the rest of the way, though two 3s by Reddish twice cut it to five early in the fourth. Reddish buried a 3 from the left wing to make it 108-105 before Vucevic hit consecutive 3s to push the lead to seven.
“Their big three, it seemed like everything they threw up went in," Hawks coach Nate McMillan said. “They do a good job of executing, spacing the floor out and making plays. It seemed like every time we would get close they would stop that momentum with a made bucket."
Young, who ranks fourth in the NBA with a 27.3 scoring average and third with 9.3 assists per game, returned two negative tests to be eligible to return. He missed the last three games after a positive COVID-19 test, and the Hawks went 1-2 without him.
The Bulls improved to 21-10, second-best in the Eastern Conference. They began the day 10 games over .500 for the first time since January 2016.
The Hawks began the day tied for 10th in the East and dropped to 15-18, losing their eighth in a row at home.
White’s straightaway 3 gave the Bulls their first double-digit lead with 9:10 to go in the third. Vucevic's lay-in against Clint Capela made it 80-70, and Atlanta called a full timeout.
Young and Reddish combined for 23 points as Atlanta led 36-31 at the end of the first. DeRozan scored 15 in the period on 5-for-6 shooting.
The Bulls came back from an eight-point deficit to tie it at 46-all on Ayo Dosunmu’s dunk midway through the second before LaVine hit a free throw to give Chicago a 55-54 lead. LaVine’s 3 made it 58-56 and caused the Hawks to call timeout. 
The lead swelled to 11 on LaVine’s 3 and DeRozan’s finger-roll in the closing minute before halftime. LaVine beat the second-quarter buzzer with a jumper that put the Bulls up 69-63 entering the third.
Chicago went 9 for 18 beyond the arc, and DeRozan and LaVine combined for 44 points in the first half. Vucevic got hot in the second half with 19 points. 
“I think Vuc has found a way to fit with those other two guys and it's been nice to watch," acting Bulls head coach Chris Fleming said. “It's been a big part of our success these last two games."
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago had 22 assists and 10 turnovers. ... DeRozan had 10 assists and Vucevic chipped in six assists and four blocked shots. ... Fleming was pleased to hear that Young had been cleared to return. “You want to play against the best,” Fleming said. “That’s how we get better.”. ... Coach Billy Donovan missed his second straight game in the protocols. “He had some mild symptoms at the beginning,” Fleming said. “He sounds like himself now.”... Minutes leader Lonzo Ball, Tony Bradley and Alfonzo McKinnie are in the protocols. ... G Alex Caruso (left hamstring strain) and F Derrick Jones Jr. (left hamstring strain) were sidelined, too.
Hawks: Reddish went 8 for 12 on 3s. ... Atlanta had 12 players absent, including John Collins, forward Danilo Gallinari, guard Kevin Huerter, guard Lou Williams, swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabbarot and reserve center Onyeka Okongwu in the protocols. ... The Hawks won the series with Chicago 3-0 last season. 
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host Atlanta on Wednesday.
Hawks: At Chicago on Wednesday.
___
More AP NBA: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/nba">https://apnews.com/hub/nba</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a>

The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks, 130-118.

DeRozan, LaVine, Vucevic power Bulls past Hawks 130-118

Zach LaVine scored 32 points in his return from the NBA's health and safety protocols, DeMar DeRozan added 24 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 113-105 on Sunday night.
Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulls (20-10) won their third straight.
Caris LeVert scored 27 points and Domantas Sabonis had 14 points and 16 rebounds after missing a game with a right calf injury as the Pacers dropped their third straight game.
Chicago had a comfortable lead throughout most of the game before Indiana pulled within 108-100 on a 3-pointer by LeVert with 3:19 to play. LaVine answered with a 20-footer and, after a miss by the Pacers, added another basket to essentially put the game away.
It was LaVine's first game since Dec. 11. However, he missed just two games because the Bulls had three games postponed during his absence. He also missed time last season because of COVID-19.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m tired of getting COVID," LaVine said. "I feel like I just had it. ... But that&rsquo;s the world we&rsquo;re living in right now. We&rsquo;ve got to play with it. Everybody in the league and the world is dealing with it right now, so I&rsquo;m not doing a poor-me mentality.&rdquo;
Rookie Ayo Dosunmu, who also returned from the health and safety protocols, came off the bench to score six points in 24 minutes.
Chicago was without starter Lonzo Ball and reserves Alfonzo McKinnie and Tony Bradley, who entered health and safety protocols on Sunday. Ball was the only player to appear in all 29 games before Sunday.
The Bulls were also without coach Billy Donovan, who entered the protocols on Friday. Assistant Chris Fleming filled in.
The Pacers were without leading scorer Malcolm Brogdon (Achilles) and Jeremy Lamb (wrist).
Indiana won 109-77 in the first meeting between the teams, on Nov. 22 at the United Center.
Chicago got off to a hot shooting start in the opening periods and led 63-48 at the half. The Bulls were 26 for 41 from the field (63.4 percent), including 6 for 12 on 3-pointers.
&ldquo;I thought we had a poor first half and a very good second half," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "That&rsquo;s not gonna cut it against a team like Chicago with two stars. They got rolling and we just didn&rsquo;t do enough in the first half to keep them from getting going.
&ldquo;I like our third quarter and I thought we did a lot of good things in the second half, but we&rsquo;re gonna have to put 48 minutes together instead of 24.&rdquo;
Indiana turned up the defensive pressure at the start of the second half and pulled within 83-75 with just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Coby White hit a pair of free throws and DeRozan added a 14-footer to build the lead back to 87-75, but the Pacers scored the final four points of the quarter to make it 87-79 entering the fourth.
Tyler Cook opened the scoring in the final quarter with a dunk and DeRozan added a pair of free throws on the next possession to stretch the lead to 91-79. A short time later, DeRozan hit back-to-back mid-range jumpers to make it 95-81 with nine minutes to go.
The Bulls found a way to win, just as they have throughout the virus outbreak.
&ldquo;Everybody&rsquo;s been like, &lsquo;Next man up,&rsquo;" LaVine said. "Everybody&rsquo;s been staying ready, and when their name is called, there&rsquo;s no hesitation and they know what to do. We&rsquo;ve been good with guys out, and that&rsquo;s saying a lot.&rdquo;
TIP INS
Pacers: Have dropped four straight on the road, falling to 3-13 away from home this season. ... C Myles Turner had 19 points on 9-for-18 shooting, but was 0 for 4 from 3-point range.
Bulls: G/F Alex Caruso (left foot sprain) sat out after being injured early in the last game against Houston. Caruso is expected to be re-evaluated in about a week. ... F Derrick Jones Jr. missed his second straight game with a left hamstring strain.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Host the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
Bulls: At the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Zach LaVine scored 32 points in his return, DeMar DeRozan added 24 points and the Bulls beat the Pacers 113-105 on Sunday night.

Bulls win 3rd straight game, defeat Pacers 113-105

The Chicago Bulls are signing forward Alfonzo McKinnie to a standard NBA contract for the remainder of the season, sources tell&nbsp;The Athletic.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1475123062320287752" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/The Athletic</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Per Charania, this is the first hardship signing to earn a full NBA contract this season. The 29-year-old has appeared in three games to date with the Bulls after spending last season with the Los Angeles Lakers. McKinnie is averging 8.0 points per game with Chicago so far. The Bulls also waived Alize Johnson today, per Charania.

McKinnie is the first played signed via the hardship exception to earn a full deal.

Bulls sign Alfonzo McKinnie to standard contract for rest of season

Falling under the category of "too little too late," the NBA announced today its first COVID-19-induced postponements of the season.&nbsp;
The Chicago Bulls will see their next two games &mdash; against the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors &mdash; postponed, and as of this writing, they have 10 players in the league's health-and-safety protocols. But this had been building up for a few days now, and Chicago even played a game as recently as Saturday.&nbsp;
The Charlotte Hornets have seen five players enter the health-and-safety protocols, and the number of teams affected is ballooning once again. The news should read as a very glaring reminder for anyone who is living in their own reality: We still live in a pandemic and are well into the worst season for sickness. The NBA teams and the league itself should remember that safety is far more important than scheduling integrity and revenue.
Though the Bulls will make this week's Sour Rankings, it's less due to on-court struggles and more due to a general frustration about these postponments and how the league and team have handled the past week.
If you're new to the Sour Rankings, here's a refresher: Unlike the typical "power rankings" that repeat themselves throughout sports media, Sour Rankings are a bizarro-world counter. These rankings highlight the top-10 most frustrating NBA franchises throughout the season, and they will be updated every week to match the twists and turns of the league.&nbsp;
This is not merely a bottom-10 of your typical best-to-worst power rankings. You will see championship contenders and playoff hopefuls mixed in with struggling squads. Teams well under .500 may never touch the Sour Rankings because they are on track with their respective processes. Injuries, drama, transactions and generally underwhelming play will earn you a spot on this list.
The central question is ultimately this: How good should you feel about the direction of each franchise? Let's get going:
Escaping the Sour Rankings:&nbsp;The Dallas Mavericks went 2-2 this week, but with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis both back and healthy, they provide optimism that the franchise can ascend the Western Conference ladder. The Miami Heat made a quick stop in the rankings, but they leaped back out after beating the Bucks and shorthanded Bulls.
10. Chicago Bulls (17-10)
The Bulls have lost two games in a row in large part due to their decimated roster. In their most recent 26-point defeat at the hands of the Heat, Troy Brown Jr. made his first start of the season; he's averaging 12.8 minutes per game. The bench consisted of Alfonzo McKinnie, Devon Dotson and Tony Bradley, with Marko Simonovic, Tyler Cook and Alize Johnson playing garbage-time minutes. There really isn't much more to uncover; this situation simply sucks for the Bulls, and it's going to affect a close playoff race.
(Last week: Unranked)
9. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-18)
After a 2-2 week, the Thunder lift up a tad in the rankings. The bar is low for the franchise after all; we just need to see meaningful performances from prospects. This week, it was Tre Mann who capitalized on a few solid games. The No. 18 pick averaged 8.3 points per game off the bench and knocked down 46.2% of his threes in the tiny sample. Mann projects as a pure scoring guard, so his on-court value will really come from weeks like this.
(Last week: 7)
8. Minnesota Timberwolves (12-15)
Minnesota finally stopped a five-game losing streak with a sorely-needed win against the Portland Trail Blazers &mdash; not exactly a statement victory.
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A very frustrated Karl-Anthony Towns: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve lost for a long time here and I&rsquo;m not trying to fucking lose anymore. It&rsquo;s pretty simple as that. Food don&rsquo;t taste good, life don&rsquo;t feel the same.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/mMFl36Y2Nt">pic.twitter.com/mMFl36Y2Nt</a>
&mdash; John Meyer (@meyerNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/meyerNBA/status/1469518068447645697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2021</a></blockquote>

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The slide culminated with the above fiery press conference from Karl-Anthony Towns, which is the last thing you want to see from the franchise centerpiece. Minnesota has the 26th-ranked offense in the NBA over the past two weeks, which is a major concern given KAT's dominance and the team's on-paper talent.
(Last week: Unranked)
7. Sacramento Kings (11-16)
In 10 games under interim head coach Alvin Gentry, the Kings are 5-5. They have the 13th-ranked offense and 26th-ranked defense, per Cleaning the Glass. This week the team went 1-2, dropping 142 points on the Orlando Magic before losing a close contest to Charlotte and a not-so-close one to Cleveland.
So far, it doesn't really feel like much has changed from a team success standpoint, though perhaps that's unfair to expect in just 10 games. Still, it means Sacramento is losing ground in the playoff race.
(Last week: 8)
6. Detroit Pistons (4-22)
Fall-O for Paolo? All Set for Chet? Party for Jabari? I don't really know if there's a good catchphrase for this year's tank war, but the Pistons are most certainly winning it. The problem is that along the way, the supporting prospects around Cade Cunningham have not shown any consistent growth. Would Pistons fans consider anyone else a true building block? Maybe you can convince me on Isaiah Stewart or Saddiq Bey, but I'm not sure right now.
With J<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/lakers-blazers-among-dozens-of-teams-interested-in-jerami-grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">erami Grant engrossed in trade rumors</a>, his market suddenly becomes the second-largest storyline behind Cunningham's development.
(Last week: 9)
5. Denver Nuggets (13-13)
The Nuggets went 2-2 this week via a loss to the Bulls, a win over New Orleans and a split with the Spurs. With Jokic back, they've stabilized a bit (not exactly a surprise) and can begin their climb out of the Sour Rankings. The MVP and best-player-on-Earth contender averaged a whopping 28.3 points, 13.3 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game this past week.
(Last week: 4)
4. Los Angeles Lakers (15-13)
The Lakers only inch up one spot because despite a 3-1 week, their stretch may have been highlighted by Charles Barkley going off on Anthony Davis' recent performance. L.A. has not been consistent as a team and didn't beat any opponent with a winning record. But I do want to give the floor to LeBron James.
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LeBron James over the last 8 Games: 39 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB 30 PTS, 11 AST, 7 REB 33 PTS, 9 AST, 5 REB 23 PTS, 6 AST, 11 REB 30 PTS, 5 AST, 4 REB 20 PTS, 11 AST, 10 REB 33 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB 30 PTS, 10 AST, 11 REB <a href="https://t.co/9CF6YEQbyh">pic.twitter.com/9CF6YEQbyh</a>
&mdash; Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1470255961583472642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Even though you've probably already seen these stats, it's worth noting that he averaged 28.3 points, 8.0 assists and 7.5 rebounds in four games while canning 41.7% of his three-pointers. He's winning games in Cavs-esque fashion and defying the laws of aging once again.
(Last week: 3)
3. Indiana Pacers (12-16)
Our No. 1 squad from last week promptly won its next three games to confuse the heck out of everybody. That doesn't mean things have improved a ton, as <a href="https://theathletic.com/3005965/2021/12/09/as-pacers-consider-shake-up-myles-turner-seeks-bigger-role-with-more-opportunity/?article_source=search&amp;search_query=myles%20turner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Myles Turner told&nbsp;The Athletic&nbsp;that he doesn't want to stay with the Pacers in his current role</a>. That's bound to force trade conversations, and maybe it's for the best, but things could get pretty awkward over the next two months.
(Last week: 1)
2. New York Knicks (12-15)
New York has the second-worst defense of any NBA team over the past two weeks. The franchise is 1-6 in its last seven games and just lost RJ Barrett and Obi Toppin to COVID-19 protocols. Quentin Grimes' 27-point outburst on Sunday is propping up all positive morale around a squad that does not look remotely close to playoff contention.
Meanwhile, the Knicks have been six points per 100 possessions worse when marquee free-agent signing Evan Fournier takes the court.
(Last week: 2)
1. Portland Trail Blazers (11-16)
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"alright we ran a pindown and it didn't work let me just pull from deep we're good" what is this what is this thinking how. <a href="https://t.co/TULKe1CIlQ">pic.twitter.com/TULKe1CIlQ</a>
&mdash; Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevejones20/status/1470225790310789120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2021</a></blockquote>

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Last week was an absolute mess for the Trail Blazers, from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/damian-lillard-wants-2year-extension-which-could-shape-blazers-gm-search" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complicated reports about Damian Lillard</a> to the current five-game losing streak. Portland is 1-8 in its last nine games and completely rudderless. Lillard made his return on Sunday, but it wasn't pretty despite the box-score totals.
The Blazers boast the 27th-ranked offense and 22nd-ranked defense over the past few weeks with some daunting games coming up on the schedule.
(Last week: 5)

The Bulls have been hit hard by player absences due to COVID-19, and now the NBA has postponed two games.

NBA Sour Rankings: The pandemic strikes back

The Los Angeles Lakers made the splashiest move during the 2021 NBA Draft, acquiring nine-time All-NBA player and modern-day triple-double savant Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster trade. By shipping out Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 overall pick to the Washington Wizards for Westbrook, Los Angeles pushed its chips all-in on a new Hollywood Big Three.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Westbrook will bring the entertainment value on the court, but what about the actual basketball fit? It's clunky, to say the least. None of James, Davis or Westbrook are above-average three-point shooters. Cumulatively, the Lakers' Big Three shot 31.3% from deep last season (LeBron at 36.5%, Westbrook at 31.5%, AD at 26.0%). For a team starving for more floor spacing, adding Westbrook clogs the floor even further.
The Lakers' roster currently looks like this before free agency kicks off later this evening: James, Davis, Westbrook, Marc Gasol, Alfonzo McKinnie, Talen Horton-Tucker (qualifying offer), Wesley Matthews (cap hold).&nbsp;
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With that said, the Lakers need to retool their roster around the James, Davis, Westbrook Big 3 with sharpshooters. Lots of them. Luckily for Los Angeles, there are plenty of veterans on the market who will not only be intrigued by ring-chasing with a superstar trio, but also a bigger role than other places due to little three-point artillery.
Here are some perimeter-oriented players the Lakers may target when teams can start negotiating with free agents on Monday at 6 p.m. ET.&nbsp;
JJ Redick
There may not be a better option for the Lakers than the OG sharpshooter himself. At age 37, Redick is still draining shots from beyond the arc with the best of them. The one thing that's missing from Redick's resume is an NBA championship. Expected to ring-chase with maybe his final contract upcoming, now is the time for Redick to join a strong title contender. Enter Los Angeles, who could potentially offer Redick a starting role alongside Westbrook in the backcourt.
Carmelo Anthony
The most obvious fit on the list is LeBron's good friend, and 10-time NBA All-Star, Carmelo Anthony. For years, many have speculated on Anthony eventually joining the Lakers. Now, this offseason seems like the perfect time to make that happen. After being out of the league back in 2018-19, Anthony has reinvented himself, becoming a reliable three-point shooter. Over the past two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Anthony drained 39.9% of his three-point attempts. At age 37, Anthony has been yearning for the opportunity to finally win his first ring. With the Lakers, that dream could soon become reality. Anthony would be able to play alongside James, Davis and Westbrook as a stretch-4, and could also be a key cog in their second unit as well. Look for this marriage to happen, especially if the interest is mutual.
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Rudy Gay
Embracing a full-time bench role over his last two seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, Gay is a great fit for what the Lakers need to win another NBA championship. Gay is a three-level scorer, but one who has improved his deep shot-making over the years. During the 2020-21 campaign, Gay hit 38.1% of his three-pointers, which could be a sign of that number potentially rising with easier opportunities in LA. Gay's bucket-getting ability is a necessity for teams looking to make deep playoff runs, and would be a welcome addition to the Lakers' rotation immediately. Since he's also on the back-end of his career and looking to win the ultimate prize, Gay is another player to watch to take a veteran-minimum deal with the Lakers.
Wayne Ellington
Ellington provides optimum floor-spacing acumen for a Lakers team in desperate need of it. This past season with the Detroit Pistons, Ellington converted on 42.2% of his three-pointers at a high volume (six attempts per game). Turning 34 years old shortly after the 2021-22 season begins, add Ellington to the ever-growing list of veterans on the cheap that would make an instant impact for Los Angeles. Like Redick, Ellington could even become a full-time starter next to Westbrook in the Lakers' backcourt. If Redick signs with the Brooklyn Nets, which has been a rumored destination, Ellington is the next-best name on the free-agent market as an obtainable veteran shooting guard.
[Editor's Note: The Lakers signed Ellington to a one-year deal on Monday evening.]
James Ennis III
Since Ennis was playing with the lowly Orlando Magic last season, many may have missed that he shot a career-high 43.3% on three-pointers. Add in Ennis' versatility as a strong wing defender, and he's one of my favorite targets on this list for Los Angeles. Immediately, Ennis would step into the Lakers' rotation as a key cog to their second unit. Although the three-point efficiency&nbsp;jump was on a low volume (2.5 attempts per game), there's no reason to believe why Ennis couldn't repeat that performance with even more wide-open looks coming his way. And to no surprise, Ennis qualifies as a plus-age-30 veteran who could look to ring-chase for a veteran's minimum.
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Bryn Forbes
Although he fell out of favor in the Milwaukee Bucks' rotation during their championship run, Forbes was a huge asset as one of the NBA's best floor-spacing sharpshooters. With the Bucks last season, Forbes shot 45.2% on 4.9 three-pointers per game. Throughout his career, Forbes has been a 41.2% shooter from deep. Just imagine the possibilities with Forbes running around the three-point line while James and Westbrook set up endless drive-and-kick opportunities. Forbes will likely command anywhere between $4-7 million annually, and many immediate contenders will be calling for his services. Would Forbes be interested in joining the Lakers' rotation on their $5.9 million mid-level exception? It's a call the Lakers should definitely make once free-agency officially opens.
Patty Mills
A 12-year veteran who has proven to be a legit scorer off the bench throughout his career, Mills is a very strong fit for the Lakers as they search for guard depth behind Westbrook. Mills has converted nearly 40% of his three-point opportunities (38.8%), and there's reason to believe career-best numbers could be on the horizon if he were to sign with Los Angeles. Not only would Mills provide three-point shooting acumen, but could run an offense in a pinch &mdash; plus create for himself around the basket. The Lakers potentially having Mills and Caruso as their primary backup guards off the bench would be a huge luxury with little cap-space flexibility. Mills on a veteran-minimum deal is another one to watch out for with a win-now veteran rotation player.

Evan Sidery lists some names to keep an eye on as potential targets for the Lakers to address their current perimeter-shooting concerns.

Lakers free-agent targets: Players who could fit in Los Angeles

The NBA&rsquo;s free agency is set to kick off this weekend, with the potential to be a wild period with a flurry of game-changing transactions. While three of the top names are expected to stay put &mdash; Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers), Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns), Mike Conley (Utah Jazz), there is one big name that could emerge as the top-dog on the market: Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry.
It&rsquo;s not often a 35-year-old floor general is the most coveted name on the open market, but Lowry&rsquo;s two-way prowess and leadership skills will be coveted by any and every organization looking to make a championship push next season. And, after the league watched Paul propel the Suns to an NBA Finals appearance after missing the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons, many rebuilding teams wanting to jump a tier or two up the proverbial ladder may give Lowry a call in the hopes he can do the same.
Although the Raptors will try to keep Lowry around, it&rsquo;s likely in the best interest of both parties to split off and begin anew after a down year that saw the Raptors earn the No. 4 overall pick. If Lowry were to say no thanks to re-signing with Toronto, it could begin an extensive rebuilding period north of the border. Pascal Siakam&rsquo;s name has continued to billow in trade talks in the lead up to draft night, which could signal Toronto is ready to build their future core around OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and the No. 4 pick.
Lowry&rsquo;s decision in free agency will cause ripple effects wherever he signs, potentially shifting the balance of power in the Association. So, with him more than likely to leave his longstanding post in Toronto, let&rsquo;s dive into which destinations make the most sense for the 15-year veteran.
MIAMI HEAT
Miami flirted with the idea of acquiring Lowry at the NBA trade deadline, but ultimately passed. This time around, the Heat are well-positioned should they decide to go all-in on adding Lowry alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
Lowry is an excellent fit within the world-renowned &ldquo;Heat Culture,&rdquo; while playing alongside Butler and Adebayo would take pressure off of him as a playmaker. Being able to settle into an organization that not only identifies with his effortless drive to win, but one that already has a supremely talented duo in place to flank him, a Lowry-Miami match is one of the strongest potential pairings.
In a sign-and-trade scenario, which could be the preferred option wherever Lowry goes so as not to leave Toronto empty-handed, shipping KZ Okpala and multiple future second-round picks could get the job done.
Next season, Miami would trot out a rotation featuring Butler, Adebayo and Lowry while also having the flexibility to retain Victor Oladipo and Duncan Robinson as a restricted free agent. Toss in promising young prospects Tyler Herro and Precious Achiuwa and the Heat have a rotation stocked with immediate, talented contributors.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Mutual interest between Lowry and the Lakers has picked up steam recently, according to Los Angeles Times&rsquo; Broderick Turner. Lowry and his former Raptors teammate DeMar DeRozan recently expressed interest in joining the purple and gold, per Turner&rsquo;s intel. That could open up a new potential fit for Lowry alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Los Angeles has been scouring the market for an elite point guard to alleviate the playmaking pressure off James, while also spacing the floor for the dynamic duo to do damage inside. In free agency, there&rsquo;s no better fit for this role than Lowry, who averaged 7.3 assists on 39.6% shooting from three-point range.
The Lakers won a championship in the Orlando Bubble with Rajon Rondo as their primary point guard outside of James. Not only would Lowry prove a massive upgrade over Rondo, but he would elevate Los Angeles to a completely different level as contenders. The Lakers&rsquo; new trio could go toe-to-toe in a Finals series with Brooklyn&rsquo;s super-team featuring Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving.
For the numbers to work, Los Angeles would need to pull off a sign-and-trade for Lowry, a familiar theme throughout this exercise. A structure that would make sense for both sides without forcing Los Angeles to overpay would include Kentavious Caldwell-Pope&rsquo;s $13 million salary, Montrezl Harrell&rsquo;s $9.7 million player option, Alfonzo McKinnie&rsquo;s non-guaranteed $1.9 million, and multiple future second-round picks. Such a scenario would also keep the team&rsquo;s options open should another potential sign-and-trade, for DeMar DeRozan or Buddy Hield, perhaps, present itself, utilizing Kyle Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker.&nbsp;
Adding Lowry would vault Los Angeles from a top title contender to arguably the favorite heading into 2021-22.
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Clippers can potentially throw their name in the hat to court Lowry, but it&rsquo;s a tricky process. With limited future draft picks and overall player assets, could they realistically entertain a Lowry sign-and-trade? Unless Kahwi Leonard and Paul George successfully pulled off a recruitment effort for Lowry, forcing the Raptors&rsquo; hand, then it&rsquo;s a very tough task.
The other Los Angeles squad can offer up all of the following to Toronto for Lowry, assuming he wants to join his former Raptors teammate with whom he won a title: Patrick Beverley, Luke Kennard, the No. 25 overall pick and future second-round picks.
A first-round pick for Lowry is an enticing piece, but Beverley&rsquo;s $14.3 million expiring contract and Kennard&rsquo;s 4-year deal might not get the job done. Unless the Clippers can re-route Kennard elsewhere in a complicated three-team sign-and-trade, the ingredients just aren&rsquo;t in place for this to happen.
Luckily for the Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder could be the perfect place to send Kennard in this scenario. In full-on asset collection mode, Los Angeles could package Kennard with multiple second-round selections to Oklahoma City to get them to facilitate a deal.
A potential framework for a Lowry sign-and-trade involving the Clippers, Raptors, and Thunder could look something like this:
Los Angeles receives: Kyle Lowry (3-year, $72 million deal)
Toronto receives: Patrick Beverley, No. 25 pick, 2023 second-round pick
OKC receives: Luke Kennard, 2022 second-round pick (via Kings), 2022 second-round pick
Although Leonard is expected to miss most of next season with a partially torn ACL, George and Lowry would help keep the Clippers afloat before his presumed postseason return. All three together would give Los Angeles such a great mix of shooting and defense. Lowry adds a completely different element to the Clippers&rsquo; system, having them rival or potentially exceed what the Lakers can do on the court.
A big-time dark horse given what they can offer, the Clippers are certainly a team to keep an eye on. Even if they can&rsquo;t land Lowry, look out for them to try and package Beverley and Kennard together to make some splashy move this offseason.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Unlike the other teams listed above, the Dallas Mavericks can outright sign Lowry to a lucrative multi-year contract without any issue. If Dallas was able to find a trade partner for Josh Richardson&rsquo;s $11.6 million player option, which he will almost certainly accept, while also renouncing all of their free agents (Tim Hardaway Jr., JJ Redick, Boban Marjanovic, Willie Cauley-Stein), they would have $34.4 million in salary cap space, per Cleaning The Glass. That&rsquo;s more than enough to sign Lowry, who might need a more expensive annual value to be persuaded by Mark Cuban&rsquo;s Mavericks.
The Mavericks are in a massive predicament this offseason. After back-to-back years not living up to his max contract extension, Kristaps Porzingis has put Dallas&rsquo; future flexibility in a bind. Playing more like a third option behind Luka Doncic and Hardaway Jr. throughout last season, the Mavericks have to be savvy to find a more suitable star running mate than Porzingis alongside their young superstar.
This is where Lowry enters the mix, and his fit next to Doncic could produce some beautiful basketball on a nightly basis. Lowry and Doncic sharing ball-handling duties, while also creating endless pick-and-pop scenarios with Porzingis, would make the Mavericks&rsquo; offense even more explosive than the record-setting unit it was just two seasons ago.
Finishing as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference in 2020-21, Dallas could enter the discussion of being a top-three seed with Lowry onboard. With Doncic expected to take another leap in his game, an MVP campaign shouldn&rsquo;t be out of the question for him, while Lowry&rsquo;s arrival would take Dallas from being a fun playoff team to a real Finals contender.
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NEW YORK KNICKS
The New York Knicks are projected to have over $50 million in salary cap space this offseason. More than enough to make a big splash, if they so desire. But could Lowry be the splash that makes New York an even stronger contender in the Eastern Conference?
Under head coach Tom Thibodeau, Julius Randle and former No. 3 overall pick R.J. Barrett produced career-best seasons. Bolstered by their young talent &mdash; Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin and Mitchell Robinson &mdash; New York is a team ripe to take a leap next season should they add the right veteran voice to the mix.
Lowry would bring so much credibility to an already improving organization like the Knicks. An ideal mentor for Barrett, Lowry would also serve to further elevate the game of the All-Star Randle.
It would take an overpay, potentially $30+ million annually, but Lowry playing in Madison Square Garden on a more regular basis would be a fun sight to behold.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
If you&rsquo;re looking for one team that could be ultra-aggressive this offseason to mirror the shocking success of the Phoenix Suns, look no further than the New Orleans Pelicans. Led by Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, New Orleans is that last big piece to vault them out of the lottery and into the playoffs next season.
Lowry could certainly be the Pelicans&rsquo; version of Chris Paul, who brought strong leadership to a young core starved of a playoff maturity. The result was an NBA Finals berth for Phoenix after missing the playoffs for 11 straight seasons.
And the clock has also started already on Zion Williamson, all the more reason to be proactive in their search this offseason. Discontent from Williamson&rsquo;s camp has been growing louder, and something drastic might need to happen for the former No. 1 overall pick not to make history as the first player to play his fifth year on the restricted tag.
To avoid the worst-case scenario down the line, New Orleans would be wise to make a full-court press on Lowry. Making room for him under the salary cap would be an intricate juggle, though. To sign Lowry to a deal worth $25+ million per year, New Orleans would have to renounce their restricted rights to Lonzo Ball while also moving Eric Bledsoe in a salary dump. Should Lowry want closer to $30 million annually, the Pelicans might need to let go of their rights on restricted free agent Josh Hart as well.
That said, the Pelicans should do whatever is necessary to land Lowry. They are one of the few teams around the Association that feels like something splashy needs to happen to appease their young stars and truly take the next step.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Philadelphia is a huge long shot in the Lowry sweepstakes, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean they won&rsquo;t try their hardest to make it happen.
A construct for a Lowry-to-Philadelphia sign-and-trade would need to revolve around Ben Simmons. According to Marc Stein, Toronto has sniffed around on Simmons&rsquo; availability, so there could be something to work with here. But what type of package would make sense for both sides in a Lowry-Simmons swap?
In what would be one of the biggest blockbusters in recent memory, it would have to revolve around the Raptors&rsquo; No. 4 overall pick. Like, say, Lowry, the No. 4 pick, and potentially another future first-round pick for Simmons.
Toronto would kickstart a new era led by Simmons, OG Anunoby, and Fred VanVleet. Pascal Siakam could then be flipped to a team like Golden State for their own lottery picks to recoup lost draft capital in this proposed sign-and-trade. Meanwhile, the Sixers&rsquo; new big three would consist of Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, and Lowry. Add into the mix Philadelphia acquiring a win-now prospect atop the draft such as Gonzaga&rsquo;s Jalen Suggs or Florida State&rsquo;s Scottie Barnes.
Lowry holds the key to a lot of potential dominos in the NBA this offseason. Wherever Lowry wants to go, it will have huge ramifications. Stay tuned to <a href="http://basketballnews.com">BasketballNews.com</a> for all the latest on the NBA&rsquo;s top free agents.

With free agency set to kick off soon, Evan Sidery explores potential landing spots for Kyle Lowry.

Examining possible free-agency destinations for Kyle Lowry

A mere 236 days ago, the Los Angeles Lakers hoisted their 17th NBA title in Orlando. But fast-forward eight months later, and things feel hollow in Hollywood.
The No. 7 seed Lakers lost in six games to the Suns with the final dagger coming last night, and even with LeBron James on the court, yesterday's outcome never seemed in doubt. Phoenix led by as much as 29 points, and never let the margin slim to single digits in the second half.
Anthony Davis left early in the contest after <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/irresponsible-los-angeles-lakers-medical-team-anthony-davis-robert-griffin-iii-team-doctors-second-opinion-athlete-injuries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">attempting to play through a groin strain</a>. James' impact waxed and waned throughout the night. L.A.'s supporting cast failed to step up. Now, for just the second time in 16 years, a James-led squad will watch the NBA conference semifinals from the couch.
Suddenly, the 2021 offseason looms large for a team hampered by injuries and inconsistency. Los Angeles must take stock of a number of key free agents, and decide whether to keep continuity or start fresh behind its two stars. Here's a quick primer on the Lakers' offseason itinerary:
<h3 style="text-align: left;">NBA Draft</h3>
The Lakers own the 22nd pick in the NBA Draft. As it stands currently, this would be the franchise's highest draft spot since selecting Lonzo Ball second overall back in 2017. L.A. hasn't made a pick in the first round since picking Moritz Wagner with the No. 25 overall choice in 2018.
Rob Pelinka and the front office will have to decide whether to use the pick on a rotation-ready player, a developmental talent similar to Talen Horton-Tucker or as a trade asset.&nbsp;
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">Free Agency</h3>
With seven players entering unrestricted free agency and one restricted free agent, <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/yearly/cap/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Spotrac</a>, the Lakers are in a pivotal year for roster construction. Among the free agents are:
Talen Horton-Tucker (RFA) --&nbsp;The lone restricted free agent, Horton-Tucker showed flashes of a strong, versatile scorer in his second year. The 20-year-old averaged 9.0 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds across 65 contests as a bench piece. His best performance came May 12 against Houston, when Horton-Tucker put up 23 points and 10 rebounds in a victory. He's one of the few true "prospects" on the team, but could be in line for a serious pay raise if another team wants to squeeze the Lakers.
Dennis Schroder (UFA)&nbsp;-- Schroder averaged 15.4 points and 5.8 assists per game as L.A.'s starting point guard in the regular season, but went remarkably cold as the playoffs wore on. The 27-year-old reportedly <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/03/30/report-dennis-schroder-rejected-four-year-84m-contract-extension-from-lakers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">turned down a 4-year extension worth $84 million</a> back in March. It remains to be seen what Schroder wants as a free agent, and if the Lakers still wish to give him that kind of money in an extension.
Andre Drummond (UFA) -- As a prime buyout acquisition who fell out of L.A.'s rotation in the playoffs, Drummond sits in limbo. He's still one of the league's best rebounders (10.2 per game with the Lakers), but struggled mightily with efficiency and turnovers at the center spot. The team must decide if he's earned at least another offseason to help <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/andre-drummond-simplifying-the-game-producing-for-los-angeles-lakers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acclimate with the roster</a>.
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Alex Caruso (UFA)&nbsp;-- The 27-year-old emerged as one of the team's best 3-and-D complements. Caruso played in 61 games, made over 40% of his three-point attempts and was one of the few bright spots during some of L.A.'s rough patches in the spring. He made just $2.75 million this past season, and will assuredly receive more lucrative offers as a free agent.
Wesley Matthews (UFA) --&nbsp;Matthews helped the Lakers become the league's best defensive team with his chops on the perimeter. But a 51.7% True Shooting Percentage was a career low for the veteran shooting guard, and he made just 10 of 33 playoff field goal attempts. The 33-year-old made $3.6 million in 2020-21 and should be valued by contending teams.
Markieff Morris (UFA) --&nbsp;In his second year with the purple &amp; gold, Morris dealt with shooting inconsistencies, hitting on just 31.1% of his threes. He averaged 9.5 minutes per game in the playoffs, and made a tad over $1.6 million this past season.
Ben McLemore (UFA)&nbsp;-- The Lakers signed McLemore in April after he was waived by the Houston Rockets, and the former 2013 lottery pick mostly contributed as a bench scoring spark. He played only 36 minutes in the postseason, making two of his nine field goal attempts.&nbsp;
Jared Dudley (UFA)&nbsp;-- At this stage of his career, Dudley's primary value comes from his voice in the locker room. The 35-year-old played just 12 games in the regular season and five total playoff minutes as a reserve.
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">Salary Cap Outlook</h3>
To be frank: the Lakers have no cap space. According to the <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/cap/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data at Spotrac</a>, Los Angeles will be shelling out over $116 million next season to LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell (player option), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Marc Gasol and Alfonzo McKinnie (non-guaranteed). And the franchise still has to pay Luol Deng $5 million in dead cap money after stretching his deal years ago.
Theoretically, the Lakers could nix McKinnie's non-guaranteed deal worth $1.9 million and hope Harrell declines his $9.7 million player option. That could put the team a hair under the estimated $112 million salary cap -- assuming they also renounce every other free agent mentioned above. The chances of all of those things happening seem pretty low, though.
Essentially, Hollywood cannot spend Hollywood money this year to mix up its roster. The Lakers will have to be cunning on the trade market, pick up veterans on minimum deals and navigate any mid-level exception contracts.&nbsp;
It's been a challenging year for the Lakers, who were faced with the shortest offseason in the NBA before opening 2020-21 as the defending champs.
But with the wound of a first-round loss still fresh, the hard work has only just begun.

The Lakers have eight potential free agents and the No. 22 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Ethan Fuller breaks down the decisions that must be made.

What do the Lakers have to address in the 2021 NBA offseason?

Will Bynum, a former NBA veteran and Israeli League MVP, is quietly leaving his mark on the next generation of NBA guards.&nbsp;
The 38-year-old founded The Grind Family, a basketball training academy, in 2019 in Chicago. He has since worked with a number of NBA players, including Killian Hayes, Alonzo Trier, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and Alfonzo McKinnie. Bynum is eager to help mold promising talents as they rise up the ranks.
&ldquo;I've had so many players that come through and I see things in 'em, and over the course of time for a year or two after working with 'em, those things come true. That's a beautiful thing,&rdquo; Bynum said in an <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/basketball-news-will-bynum-chicago-nba-training-detroit-pistons-big-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive interview with Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com</a>.
Bynum developed The Grind Family after being inspired as a trainer at ISE, where he worked alongside Detroit Pistons legends Joe Dumars, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace. The brand includes an AAU program, a clothing line, and coming soon, a shoe store. It's the culmination of a calling for the 10-year NBA player.
One of Bynum's closest and most prominent pupils is Patrick Beverley of the Los Angeles Clippers. When Beverley was at a "mental low point," the two connected and developed a tight bond.
&ldquo;We had these conversations, got closer,&rdquo; Bynum said. &ldquo;I moved out with him and he started to pick up on my routine, my work ethic, what I'm doing. It's like sharing information and building at the same time, and it helps out everybody. It's not a thing where he just benefits or I just benefit. We both benefit, and this is the way it should be."
Bynum is moving to Scottdale, AZ next month to continue his development as a trainer. The Chicago native wants to give other city kids a new place to hone their craft.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm gonna give guys an outlet to be able to come out and train in the summer, and be in a nice area where they don't have to worry about too many different things,&rdquo; Bynum said. &ldquo;Also, Chicago kids, same way where they don't have to grow up in that type of upbringing, they have me out there. On top of that, it allows me to attack the Chicago situation professionally and not have my emotions in it."

Bynum has worked with NBA talents such as Killian Hayes, Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn.

Will Bynum carving out role as impactful NBA skills trainer

Spencer Davies catches up with Will Bynum to discuss his unconventional journey and recent pivot to training NBA draft prospects.

After unconventional journey, Will Bynum is passing his wisdom on to next generation

The Los Angeles Lakers are trading center JaVale McGee and a second round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In return, LA receives Jordan Bell and Alfonzo McKinnie, but those two will be waived to make room for Marc Gasol, <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/11/cleveland-cavaliers-acquire-javale-mcgee-2026-second-round-pick-from-los-angeles-lakers-sources-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.</a>
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1330671903724371968" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS: The Cavaliers just lost Tristan Thompson to the Boston Celtics in free agency, so general manager Koby Altman makes this move to ensure the team has its backup center to Andre Drummond. McGee has championship pedigree from his years in Golden State and Los Angeles, so the veteran big will fill a role immediately with the second unit.
Bell and McKinnie will hit the open market after being waived.

The Lakers have reportedly cleared enough room to sign a free agent such as Marc Gasol.

Lakers trade JaVale McGee, draft pick to Cleveland

Over six months removed from their final game of the 2019-20 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers are raring to go. This week, they&rsquo;ll finally return to the court, as the franchise prepares to conduct its first organized team activity since the pandemic.
Currently, the Cavaliers&rsquo; players and staff are quarantining in their own hotel rooms downtown before their first scheduled group workout on Wednesday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Abiding by the same protocols as the NBA teams in Orlando, everybody must test negative for COVID-19 twice in order to attend. There will be six, two-and-a-half-hour late-morning programs and optional nightly shooting and workout sessions from Sept. 23 through Sept. 30.
According to a Cavaliers team source, the organization fought hard for this opportunity. It was anything but the perfect solution; Cleveland and the seven other teams left out of the NBA bubble in Orlando would&rsquo;ve loved to participate in the restart. These eight franchises lost a lot of footing compared to the teams that were able to continue their season in Orlando.
Despite missing the playoffs, the Phoenix Suns went 8-0 in the seeding games and built toward next season. The Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans had the chance to fight for a playoff spot. Perhaps the closest team to Cleveland process-wise is the Washington Wizards and, with Bradley Beal on the sidelines, they saw their future cornerstone pieces such as Rui Hachimura and Troy Brown Jr. improve and get reps versus other teams. The Cavaliers source described being left out of the Orlando bubble as an "extreme disadvantage." Each team in Orlando played a total of eight games and had three scrimmages.&nbsp;
While it seems minor, that type of progression is important and Cleveland had no way to replicate that. Instead, the Cavaliers will have to settle for this in-region, internal bubble of their own -- scrimmaging five-on-five and practicing within a team setting. Again, it isn&rsquo;t perfect, but it&rsquo;s better than nothing, even without the likes of Andre Drummond (personal matter), Cedi Osman (overseas), Tristan Thompson (unrestricted free agent) and Matthew Dellavedova (unrestricted free agent).
&ldquo;First of all, it's going to be some semblance of normalcy, which is great,&rdquo; the Cavs team source said. &ldquo;I think, more than anything, the team bonding and being together and enjoying each other and our presence is going to be awesome. I think that's going to be a big, big positive for us. It's going to be like a really cool retreat, if you will, with basketball. I think it&rsquo;s going to be a major plus and then Coach (J.B. Bickerstaff) getting to reaffirm some of the stuff he wants to put in from a defensive standpoint will be great. And just getting to play [is important]. We'll just continue to move forward, onward and upward, hopefully make some real strides during these next few days in our bubble, and then continue on to what's next.&rdquo;
Bickerstaff will return as head coach after his 11-game showing last season; it&rsquo;s the first time the Cavs have had the same coach in consecutive years since Tyronn Lue in 2018. That continuity is essential for a franchise that&rsquo;s focused on turning into a consistent winner. According to the team source, Bickerstaff was always going to be the coach to lead Cleveland into the future; it just so happened that former head coach John Beilein didn&rsquo;t make it through the year, so Bickerstaff got to grab the reins a bit earlier than anticipated.&nbsp;
The Cavaliers are thrilled to see how Bickerstaff can push their team forward. He&rsquo;s been in the NBA for 17 years, starting under his father, Bernie, as an assistant with the Charlotte Bobcats. He also had stints coaching the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Memphis Grizzlies. His head coaching experience with the Rockets and Grizzlies is a huge reason why Cleveland believed in him as its long-term solution, per the team source.&nbsp;
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Bickerstaff has a unique ability to develop relationships with his players, on and off the floor. He&rsquo;s not afraid to be honest, he grinds and he&rsquo;s &ldquo;magnetic&rdquo; as a teacher.
&ldquo;He's the right guy for what we're doing right now,&rdquo; the team source said. "We have our head coach of the future. And we have some continuity moving forward.&rdquo;
Consistency is the next step for these Cavaliers. For that to happen, there has to be widespread improvement from top to bottom. That includes the front office providing the right pieces to the puzzle, players committing to get better in-house and coaches continuing to adapt their schemes to the roster. Bickerstaff&rsquo;s short takeover stint was a taste of what that looks like.
&ldquo;It has to be a multi-prong approach. There's not one solution to becoming better at that,&rdquo; the team source said. &ldquo;Post All-Star break, we were competing, we were playing hard. And the results show that; it&rsquo;s a small sample size, but [it was] 11 games against some real teams. We know we can do it.&rdquo;
Cleveland went 5-6 after the All-Star break, but there were plenty of positive takeaways from that stretch. There was a double-digit comeback win against the Miami Heat, a grind-it-out victory over the San Antonio Spurs, a 14-point win over the Philadelphia 76ers and a tough victory over the Denver Nuggets. Even in losses, there was a competitive spirit that had been missing.&nbsp;
Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman and his front-office staff have the chance to bolster the roster in multiple ways. First, there&rsquo;s the upcoming NBA Draft on Nov. 18. The Cavaliers currently hold the No. 5 overall pick. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the team will be active in trade conversations and <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/09/will-kevin-porter-jr-start-for-cleveland-cavaliers-this-coming-season-hey-chris.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">could use the selection as bait</a> -- if the right short- or long-term piece is available. That is contingent on how the draft shakes out, though.
The 2020 NBA Draft is wide open in terms of where players are projected to land. Altman and his front office are still mulling things over. With plenty of time to do their due diligence, there have been debates over certain prospects; Cleveland.com reported Deni Avdija, Isaac Okoro and Devin Vassell as the <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2020/08/who-will-cleveland-cavaliers-pick-at-no-5-in-nba-draft-hey-chris.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">three top wings in consideration</a>.&nbsp;
Per the Cavs source, this pre-draft process has been more difficult than usual considering teams can&rsquo;t meet any of the prospects in person to get a feel for their personality and establish a rapport. Also, there&rsquo;s less data available than in a typical year, so the team is just trying to watch as much game film as possible and hold virtual meetings with prospects. If Cleveland chooses to hang on to the fifth pick, the organization has an opportunity to add a good player who fits into the culture that&rsquo;s being established. Ideally, they&rsquo;ll find someone with the right attitude, a strong work ethic, toughness and a desire to be there.
Another way Altman and Co. can help Bickerstaff is through free agency. Much of their plan is hinges on Andre Drummond and whether he&rsquo;ll opt out. According to the team source, all signs suggest that Drummond &ldquo;probably will&rdquo; exercise his $28,751,774 player option. Drummond said as much during an appearance on ESPN&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.espn.com/espnradio/podcast/archive/_/id/26437808" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Le Batard &amp; Friends Network podcast</a>.
&ldquo;Yeah, that&rsquo;s going to be pretty hard to give up, so you can count on me being in Cleveland still,&rdquo; Drummond said in June. Later in the interview, he added: &ldquo;I definitely will be in Cleveland.&rdquo;
Since they&rsquo;re no longer a luxury tax-payer, the Cavaliers will have the $9,258,000 mid-level exception on their hands; this can be used entirely on one free agent or split between multiple players. The Cavs source said that the team will be looking for &ldquo;defensive-minded players&rdquo; while also looking to add &ldquo;length and athleticism.&rdquo;&nbsp;
It is important to note that the franchise does hold Tristan Thompson&rsquo;s Bird rights, meaning if the Cavaliers decide to bring him back into the fold, they can go over the salary cap to sign him and still have their MLE. With that said, they&rsquo;re likely not going to spend a ton of money to the point of dipping back into the luxury tax, especially since they did all that work to clear up their cap sheet in the previous two years. At this stage, it&rsquo;s about hitting singles and adding those positives up -- Alfonzo McKinnie and his team-friendly contract is a perfect example of that.
The team source said that there&rsquo;s &ldquo;a lot of mutual interest&rdquo; between Cleveland and Thompson. In a sense, who the team drafts could play a significant role in that free-agency decision. Would it make sense for Thompson to return if Onyeka Okongwu is the selection at five? Though unlikely, if <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/james-wiseman-memphis-2020-nba-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">James Wiseman were to surprisingly slide</a> to the Cavaliers and they nabbed him, re-signing Thompson may no longer be a priority.
The Cavs could also try to improve the roster via trades, although league sources say that most trade talks around the NBA are on hold at the moment. Not many conversations were taking place while teams were in the bubble and everyone is waiting to see what the 2020-21 salary cap will be set at before making moves.
As for the cornerstone pieces already on the roster, Cleveland feels great.&nbsp;
Collin Sexton found his niche and, specifically under Bickerstaff, thrived. Over his five games in March, the second-year guard averaged 30 points, 4.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 40 minutes per contest. His true shooting percentage during that stretch was a career-best 66.4 percent. If you want a slightly larger sample size, look at his post All-Star break numbers when Bickerstaff slid into his head coaching role: 25.5 points and 4.2 assists with a 43.1 three-point percentage. Playing both as a ball-handler and off the ball, Sexton was as efficient as he&rsquo;s ever been, had the highest usage rate on the team and made teams pay.
The team source described Sexton as &ldquo;looking monstrous&rdquo; and &ldquo;huge&rdquo; after working on his body. The Cavaliers are excited to see where Sexton goes next in his development.
&ldquo;He's our cultural backbone and what we want to be about,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;He just puts his head down and goes. He got left off the initial team for Rising Stars, which is insane. He's an incredible kid in that way [that he keeps working].&rdquo;
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Last year&rsquo;s draft saw the franchise bring in three different talents: Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Dylan Windler.&nbsp;
Garland had a case of the ups and downs, but the ups gave us a glimpse of his ceiling. Among rookie point guards, he ranked second in total assists (229) behind only Ja Morant. Despite his streaky shooting nights, he still knocked down 35.5 percent of his five triples per game. Coming off just four games of collegiate experience, reps at the professional level were paramount for Garland from the standpoint of running the marathon, so to speak.
According to the source, Garland&rsquo;s been throwing down alley-oops in 1-on-0 workouts, asserting the fact that he&rsquo;s healthy and has his legs under him without any limitations. He&rsquo;s also come back to Cleveland with a better physical frame.
&ldquo;We know there's so much more left, we know there's so much more there,&rdquo; the team source said of Garland&rsquo;s development. &ldquo;He's also been super locked in because he feels like he has so much more potential, so much more to offer. He also feels snubbed and disrespected by that All-Rookie team, which was absurd in a lot of regards. He's a wonderful kid, too. Great worker. We're excited about him and his potential. I think his best basketball is yet to come.&rdquo;
Can Sexton and Garland work in the same backcourt, particularly on the defensive end? That&rsquo;s a question the Cavaliers are hoping to get answered too. The source concedes that the two would benefit from a bigger and longer froncourt; however, they&rsquo;ll also have to get tougher, slide their feet better, power through screens and genuinely take charge of that side of the court as a duo.
They could always just talk to Larry Nance Jr. An unsung hero for the team, last season was the best of his career. He&rsquo;s a Swiss Army knife who offers the versatility that coaches dream of, both as an offensive weapon and defensive stalwart. Most notably for Bickerstaff, he was even used as a three in some lineups when the Cavaliers went bigger. Remember the double-digit comeback against the Miami Heat at home? That all started with Nance&rsquo;s tenacity on defense.
Of course, Porter might&rsquo;ve shown the most flashes as an individual defender among the young guards, and he showed much more than just that. Bouncing between the second unit and the starting lineup, the rookie swingman provided highlight-reel playmaking, impressive shooting and infectious energy. Though there&rsquo;s been curiosity about when he&rsquo;ll start at the three or supplant one of Sexton or Garland as a starting guard, the Cavs source has an inkling that Porter will continue to pack his powerful punch off the bench. Maybe that&rsquo;s because the organization would like to see what Year 2 looks like for its young pairing, and it&rsquo;s been reported that Cleveland views Porter more as a shooting guard rather than a forward.
Regardless of positional opinions and who&rsquo;s in the starting five, you&rsquo;re going to see all three of them playing together at the same time under Bickerstaff. You might see different combinations of those players alongside Windler, too.
The 24-year-old missed the entirety of his rookie season with a stress reaction in his lower left leg. The Cavaliers tried to bring him back slowly via a couple of stints with the team&rsquo;s G League affiliate, the Canton Charge, but it was to no avail. Since the January surgery, however, he has recovered fully. According to the team source, Windler is going to be 100 percent, full-go in the upcoming team workouts.&nbsp;
&ldquo;These next couple weeks are going to be just awesome for him, to get back to playing basketball again,&rdquo; the Cavs source said. &ldquo;We're excited to see what that looks like. But talk about a great fit along with the guards -- size, shooting, basketball IQ, cutting, really good rebounder for his position. We're pretty pumped about the possibilities, but we have to see it first.&rdquo;
A healthy, fresh Kevin Love will go a long way too. His gravity on the perimeter, effectiveness on the block and aggressiveness on the glass are game-changers. Cedi Osman has steadily improved as one of the team&rsquo;s all-around forwards. The length of the second unit with Dante Exum and McKinnie was one of the more intriguing parts of the latter half of the season.
The Cavaliers also converted Dean Wade&rsquo;s two-way contract into a standard deal and took a flyer on versatile big man Jordan Bell, so we&rsquo;ll see how they look in the next week.
The Cavs source said that the mood around the team is an eager one. Being on pause for this long has Cleveland wanting to get going. It hasn&rsquo;t been easy to sit at home and watch as much of the league continues without you.
Come 11 a.m. on Wednesday morning, they won&rsquo;t have to anymore.

Spencer Davies details what's next for the Cavs as they hold their first team workouts since March and enter a unique offseason.