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Wizards

Dwight Howard, Bam Adebayo, DeAndre Jordan. When the chiseled 6-foot-10 Jalen Duren comes crashing down on dunks, these are some of the names that are evoked in scouts' minds. Duren, a former 5-star recruit and current freshman at Memphis, has been a consistently positive force for the Tigers in a season that's been full of ups and downs. His immense physical tools and stand-out athleticism have had him on the prospect radar since he was a freshman in high school. Thus far, Duren has not disappointed, as he's been high on the big boards of scouts, teams and draft analysts alike.&nbsp;
From Delaware to Florida
Duren, a native of Delaware, began both his AAU and high school career with Pennsylvania roots. Duren played up with Team Final (PA) as a middle schooler. He competed with their 15-and-under team &mdash; showing no problem thriving in a league two age groups up, as he is such an overwhelming physical force. During his middle school run with Team Final, Duren blew up on the national radar, sparking a frenzy from high schools looking for the right to have him don their jersey. Duren decided upon Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High School, a program that has produced the likes of Rasual Butler, Brad Wanamaker and Lamar Stevens. The future Memphis Tiger linked up with a future LSU Tiger, Justice Williams, at Roman Catholic. During his first year with the private school powerhouse, the duo rolled their way to a historic Philadelphia Catholic League title. Duren brought home All-State honors following a strong debut season.
Duren's sophomore effort looked to be much of the same, as Roman Catholic seemed to be rolling their way to a third consecutive title, until the COVID-19 pandemic abbreviated the season. Duren and Williams opted to transfer to Montverde Academy for their junior seasons. Competing in the new National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC), the duo joined a team loaded with high-major talent. Montverde recorded a dominant 24-1 record, in which Duren earned All-American honors. Montverde reaffirmed their spot atop the high school basketball ranks with a national championship.&nbsp;
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The Penny Way
In August of 2021, Duren made the surprising decision to reclassify, in conjunction with fellow top 2022 recruit Emoni Bates. The pair of consensus 5-stars pledged their college careers to the Memphis Tigers and head coach Penny Hardaway in the same week. Bates and Duren finished fifth and sixth in the recruiting rankings respectively, and gave Memphis a consensus top-2 recruiting class in the country. The addition of the two 5-star recruits and fellow top-50 player Josh Minott to a veteran-laden Memphis team landed the Tigers at the pre-season No. 12 spot in the country. The Tigers opened the season 6-0, featuring wins against St. Louis, Western Kentucky and Virginia Tech. Duren averaged a double-double &mdash; 13.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game during their run, while also adding 4.2 blocks per game. This impressive stretch included a dominant 22 point, 19 rebound outing against Western Kentucky's 7-5 Jamarion Sharpe. Duren was a physical monster, beasting a talented Hilltoppers squad at every turn.
After peaking at No. 9 in the rankings, Memphis hit quite a bit of turmoil, as a fissure began to form in the locker room following a string of losses. In an interview with The Athletic, Penny said, "We've got so much negativity in our locker room with veterans being jealous. Everybody's trying to get to the NBA off the ranking we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches, anything. It's been miserable. You can imagine what a 17-year-old is thinking as he's trying to figure it out." Duren has remained positive for the team despite the turmoil, averaging 9.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. I recently saw Duren take on the Central Florida Knights in a game that wasn't highly contested, as Memphis struggled.
Pregame, Duren warmed up and stretched largely individually. He came sporting a very quiet, "I'm about my business" demeanor in which he was locked-in and wasn't particularly jovial. Duren was most impactful defensively during the game, where he registered 3 blocks and was an intimidator in the paint. Offensively he struggled to get into his groove in a game where the Tigers were severely short-handed (only 7 players played, as Jayden Hardaway got injured early).&nbsp;
NBA Bound
Despite a volatile year for the Memphis program as a whole, Duren's draft stock has remained relatively unchanged, as he is still a likely top-10 pick on any reasonable draft board. Additionally, Duren's physical tools have buoyed his draft stock &mdash; he is a top .001% type of athlete.&nbsp;
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Our Sr. Draft Analyst Matt Babcock shared what he has seen out of the 6-foot-10 freshman this season:
"At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds of muscle to go along with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and good athleticism, Jalen Duren possesses impressive physical tools. He's also a capable passer with a higher skill set than what one might initially expect. Also, remember that he's supposed to be a high school senior this year. However, he chose to reclassify to attend Memphis a year early. It is yet to be determined how high he'll be selected exactly &mdash; and I am concerned with his selective motor &mdash; but I feel comfortable with the idea that he will likely be the first true big man to come off the board on draft night."
Duren currently sits at No. 6 on the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com 2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
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Grant Aqui talks likely top-10 2022 draftee Jalen Duren, a talented freshman big man playing in a tough situation for the Memphis Tigers

2022 NBA Draft: Jalen Duren showcasing immense potential

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

The Indiana Pacers are finally embracing a rebuild. After years of toiling around in mediocrity, the Pacers realized their slow start and league-low attendance weren't going to turn around anytime soon. According to The Athletic&rsquo;s Shams Charania and Bob Kravitz, Indiana is open to trading the following players before February&rsquo;s deadline: Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner.
We already covered <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/examining-potential-trade-destinations-for-caris-levert" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five potential destinations for LeVert</a>, who quickly became expendable with Chris Duarte emerging as a long-term building block. Nekias Duncan has some <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/exploring-trade-destinations-for-domantas-sabonis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trade ideas cooking on Sabonis</a> as well. So now, to round things out, it&rsquo;s time to reveal the best win-win deals involving Turner.&nbsp;
Unlike Sabonis, who some teams may need to reinvent their entire system around, Turner is the ideal complementary piece for any contender looking to take a leap forward &mdash; this season and beyond. As a modern center who can stretch the floor and block shots at an elite level, many teams will be calling Indiana to inquire about a potential deal.
So, which teams actually make sense for Turner? Let&rsquo;s reveal our six best destinations:
Charlotte Hornets
I already mentioned Turner to the Hornets as a perfect fit for both player and team last week when discussing <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/five-potential-trades-that-make-way-too-much-sense-leading-up-to-februarys-deadline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five potentially playoff-altering trades before the deadline</a>. Charlotte is so close to taking a massive step forward in the Eastern Conference. All the Hornets need is an adequate rim-protector to help them from leaking too many points to opponents on a nightly basis. Acquiring Turner not only solves that issue, it also raises the ceiling for young superstar point guard LaMelo Ball as well.
Imagining Turner catching lobs from LaMelo and spacing the floor is so much fun, in addition to what he would provide defensively. Charlotte&rsquo;s potential core of Ball, Miles Bridges, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and Turner would be a well-put-together starting lineup. The Hornets could still have James Bouknight and Kai Jones developing off their bench as long-term lottery tickets too.
With Turner expected to fetch a nice return for Indiana, what actually makes sense in terms of an offer? There are two different scenarios to parse through:
Option 1: Kelly Oubre Jr., PJ Washington and a protected future first-round pick
Option 2: Gordon Hayward and a protected future first-round pick
The only reason why Hayward is included here is because we already know Indiana was seriously pursuing the former Indianapolis native during the 2020 offseason. When the Pacers offered Turner for Hayward in the past, former Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge didn't budge. Hayward instead bolted to Charlotte, receiving a big bag of cash in the process.
Would Indiana be open to revisiting a similar package 18 months later?
Pacers owner Herb Simon has been reluctant to dip his toes into any luxury-tax payments, so we know that&rsquo;s not happening as sellers. So, how about this Hayward-centric return to try out a &ldquo;soft rebuild&rdquo; or retool?
Pacers receive: Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington, JT Thor, protected first-round pick
Hornets receive: Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday
Hayward would slide in as the 4 next to TJ Warren on the wing, forming an interesting duo. Washington&rsquo;s role in Charlotte isn&rsquo;t growing anytime soon, so giving the former lottery pick a bigger opportunity in Indiana makes sense as well. And from a pure fan perspective of putting butts in the seats, Brownsburg, Indiana native and former Butler Bulldog Gordon Hayward absolutely does that.
From Charlotte&rsquo;s perspective, it&rsquo;s a massive win. Acquiring Turner raises the team's immediate and long-term ceiling, with Lamb and Holiday bolstering that bench.
I doubt Indiana would be interested in Oubre, so let&rsquo;s roll with the options revolving around Hayward. What do you think of this big move for both sides?
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New Orleans Pelicans
As I mentioned yesterday with LeVert, keep an eye on New Orleans as the most desperate team in the NBA. Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin knows the hourglass could soon be running out on his tenure, plus Zion Williamson&rsquo;s injury history continues to pile on.
How about acquiring Turner as an ideal buffer between Brandon Ingram and Zion? It makes a lot of sense to help out a team that's in desperate need of a consistent defensive identity.
Turner is an absolutely perfect third piece to the puzzle in New Orleans, and hopefully a healthy and dominant version of Williamson reappears as well.
However, for a valuable piece like Turner, what would the Pelicans need to send back the Pacers&rsquo; way? Hint: it&rsquo;s going to be a lot.
Here&rsquo;s what I cooked up for a potential Pacers-Pelicans blockbuster revolving around Turner:
Pacers receive: Josh Hart, Kira Lewis Jr., Jaxson Hayes, two future first-round picks (via Lakers and Bucks)
Pelicans receive: Myles Turner, Jeremy Lamb, Brad Wanamaker
Indiana acquires two young assets in Lewis and Hayes, plus another player yet to hit his prime with Hart. The two first-round picks from the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks are the icing on top of the cake from the Pelicans.
Yes, the Pelicans have Jonas Valanciunas and he&rsquo;s playing at an awesome level right now, but you have to begin thinking about accelerating the rebuild. New Orleans could play Turner and Valanciunas together at some points if necessary, but they could reroute the 29-year-old Valanciunas with his value at an all-time high.
With all three players age-25 or under, a trio of Williamson, Ingram and Turner is something to invest real assets into before it&rsquo;s too late.
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Golden State Warriors
Could you imagine Turner in the same role Kevon Looney is filling right now for Golden State? The Warriors&rsquo; defense would be incredible, and completely unfair. Turner and Draymond Green would make up a terrifying frontcourt duo, plus the former&rsquo;s floor-spacing is an ideal fit in Golden State&rsquo;s offense.
From Indiana&rsquo;s point of view, though, what makes sense in return for Turner? If I&rsquo;m in Pacers president Kevin Pritchard&rsquo;s shoes, I&rsquo;m holding out for Jonathan Kuminga in any Turner deal with Golden State. If push comes to shove with the Warriors refusing to include Kuminga, the following may make sense for both sides:
Pacers receive: James Wiseman, Moses Moody, Damion Lee, future protected first-round pick
Warriors receive: Myles Turner, Kelan Martin
Indiana would acquire two young prospects in Wiseman and Moody to add alongside Duarte and fellow first-round pick Isaiah Jackson. Golden State would probably become the true NBA Finals favorite bringing aboard Turner, plus a sharpshooting wing who can provide spot minutes in Martin.
The Warriors have the assets to make a title push even more likely. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if they have already called Indiana about Turner or Sabonis, because either one makes this team even more of a juggernaut in the Western Conference.
Chicago Bulls
This one is interesting, especially when you consider it would be Pacers 2.0 all over again with an offense-first big alongside Turner in Nikola Vucevic. However, Vucevic's contract expires after this season. If the Bulls retooled a little bit and moved Vucevic this summer, could you imagine the spacing and defensive versatility a frontcourt duo of Turner and Patrick Williams would provide? That sounds like a massive upgrade to me, allowing the ball to be in the hands of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan even more.
Indiana would of course ask for Williams if the team were to trade Turner within its own division, but that would be a swift, "No." Instead, what about this compelling offer with a young prospect, salary filler and multiple first-round picks going back to Indiana?
Pacers receive: Coby White, Derrick Jones Jr., 2022 first-round pick via Portland, 2026 heavily protected first-round pick
Bulls receive: Myles Turner
Assuming Turner coming aboard would put into motion a long-term vision of him and Williams sharing a frontcourt (the more I talk about it, the more I love this idea), Chicago could offload Vucevic this offseason to recoup some sort of draft capital lost here.
LaVine and DeRozan being insulated defensively by the likes of Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Turner and Williams is a dream scenario for Chicago. This would make the Bulls a terrifying team in the East for years to come.
Meanwhile, Indiana could be the ideal reset for a former lottery pick in White, who wasn&rsquo;t selected by the Bulls&rsquo; current front office regime.
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Milwaukee Bucks
Another Central Division team knocking down the door of Indiana? Again, this one seems far-fetched, but the possibilities are endless here. Imagining a modern big like Turner alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo brings forth mouth-watering possibilities for the Bucks.
However, with little draft capital, would Indiana even be interested in a package revolving around Brook Lopez&rsquo;s contract and Donte DiVincenzo? Maybe with a future pick or two thrown in, it could entice a conversation with Indiana.
Don&rsquo;t forget, there&rsquo;s already trade history between these two divisional teams. When the Pacers pulled off a sign-and-trade for Malcolm Brogdon, it was structured to be a win-win deal for both sides.
Could history repeat itself with Turner joining the Bucks this time around?
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Plopping Turner within the Bucks&rsquo; core is a game-changing move for them. Immediately, Milwaukee would stake its claim as the top team in the East in 2021-22 and beyond. Turner&rsquo;s shooting and rim-protection would essentially give Milwaukee a younger version of Lopez.&nbsp;
I would say this move is doubtful, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if Milwaukee calls about Turner to try to go all-in as they look to repeat.&nbsp;
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland needs to do something soon. Damian Lillard is obviously frustrated with the direction of the team, so what&rsquo;s going to happen with the Trail Blazers&rsquo; roster? As a team with little to no defensive integrity, currently and historically, inserting Turner would be a massive win for Portland.
Turner would become an immediate upgrade over Jusuf Nurkic, who would be sent back to Indiana as salary filler in this scenario. On top of Nurkic, the Blazers would attach promising combo guard Anfernee Simons.
Although Portland loves what it has seen from Simons and Nassir Little in terms of player development, these types of moves have to occur in order to raise the ceiling and floor of the team's current roster.
From Indiana&rsquo;s perspective, this deal is very interesting. The Pacers&rsquo; primary prize here would be Simons alongside a future first-round pick. (Nurkic may even be flipped again or bought out since a rebuilding team has no need for a veteran big on an expiring contract). Seeing Simons in a bigger role would be very intriguing, and that's exactly what would occur in Indy alongside Duarte.
***
So, there we have it. Six teams who stand out as possible landing spots and who should be banging down Indiana's door in pursuit of a perfect modern big man.
This isn&rsquo;t even the tip of the iceberg in terms of Turner&rsquo;s potential destinations though. Many other teams not listed will certainly call about the 25-year-old. As a floor-spacer and rim-protector who might not have hit his true ceiling yet, expect over the half of the league to inquire about Turner in some fashion.

The Pacers are about to blow up their roster. Which teams make the most sense to pursue Myles Turner? Evan Sidery lists six.

Examining potential trade destinations for Myles Turner

We're now nearly a month into NBA free agency, and as expected, all of the big names are off the market. But the 2021 free-agency class was so large, that even weeks later, a number of quality pros remain available.
At this stage, your favorite squad isn't likely to sign a game-changer. But there are plug-and-play veterans and young castoffs who can provide value to any roster. Paul Millsap headlines the remaining best available players, and dozens of others are worth taking a peek at.
Below are some notable unsigned players for each of the three umbrella positional groups.&nbsp;
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Guards</h2>
Wesley Matthews (UFA)
Matthews has now played for five teams in three seasons. The 34-year-old most recently suited up for the Lakers in 2020-21, averaging 4.8 points per game in a bench role. Matthews provides toughness on both ends as a 3-and-D veteran.
J.J. Redick (UFA)
Redick can still shoot it (37.1% from three last season) but has lost much of the explosiveness off the ball that made him such a threat throughout his career. The 37-year-old played for the Pelicans and Mavericks last season, and could help a team searching for an offensive spark. Redick has said that <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jj-redick-to-bypass-training-camp-could-be-a-midseason-roster-addition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he will likely take his time</a>, skipping training camp and signing with a team in a few months.
Avery Bradley (UFA)
Bradley was traded from Miami to Houston at the March 25 trade deadline, but did shoot 42.1% from long range during his short stint with the Heat. The 30-year-old has been part of a number of successful teams, including the Lakers' championship squad in 2020. He'll be able to provide adequate shooting and defense wherever he lands.
Langston Galloway (UFA)
Galloway played a minor bench role for the Suns in their trip to the NBA Finals. The 29-year-old did what he was asked: he shot well from the perimeter (42.4%) and turned the ball over just 13 times in 480 minutes. He'll be a valuable and reliable reserve wherever he goes.
Frank Ntilikina (UFA)
The 2017 No. 8 overall pick never found his groove with the New York Knicks. Ntilikina's minutes were halved in his fourth season (just 9.8 per game) as he battled on the outside of Tom Thibodeau's rotation. He's still only 23 years old, though, and is an NBA-caliber perimeter defender. Ntilikina also made 23 of his 48 three-point attempts in 2020-21, a 47.9% clip albeit on a small sample size.
Others Include: Isaiah Thomas, E'Twaun Moore, Brad Wanamaker, Jordan McLaughlin, Dante Exum, Dennis Smith Jr., Tyler Johnson, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Wings</h2>
James Ennis (UFA)
The journeyman wing has taken the court for seven franchises in his seven professional seasons. Ennis has made 36.0% of his threes in his career, but canned 43.3% of those looks with the Orlando Magic in 2020-21. He can operate as a mini microwave scorer, and floor-spacing wings will always have value in today's NBA.
Stanley Johnson (UFA)
Johnson worked his way to increased playing time with the Toronto Raptors last season, even starting 13 games for the team. It was a mixed bag &mdash; he shot just 37.8 percent from the field &mdash; but the former 2015 lottery pick had some bright moments, including a 35-point, 10-rebound effort in a May 13 loss to Chicago. Johnson has improve notably as a defender and may be one of the better free agent "flier" options.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (UFA)
If a team is looking for a defensive spark plug, they should start with Hollis-Jefferson. The 26-year-old can guard both forward spots and even some smaller bigs with his length and energy. Hollis-Jefferson has a rough offensive foundation, but he wouldn't need to be relied on as more than a finisher.
Others include: Denzel Valentine, Garrison Mathews, Paul Watson Jr., Gary Clark, Justin Jackson, Theo Pinson, Michael Beasley, Deividas Sirvydis
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Bigs</h2>
Paul Millsap (UFA)
Millsap has slowly regressed with age, and at 36 years old, is no longer the Swiss Army knife he has usually been on both ends. But he's still a versatile piece that teams can plug in at power forward or center while shooting the ball respectably. Millsap spent his last four seasons with the Denver Nuggets., and the <a href="Isaiah%20Thomas,%20E'Twaun%20Moore,%20Brad%20Wanamaker,%20Jordan%20McLaughlin,%20Dante%20Exum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Warriors and Nets have reportedly demonstrated recent interest</a>.
Jarred Vanderbilt (RFA)
Timberwolves fans were intrigued by Vanderbilt last season. The 22-year-old made 30 starts and generally battled on defense and on the glass. Vanderbilt also made 71.7% of his attempts around the rim, and still radiates potential.
LaMarcus Aldridge (UFA)
It appears that the veteran Aldridge, who retired just a few months ago due to a heart condition, has consulted with medical personnel and decided to attempt a return to the NBA (<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31959203/former-all-star-forward-lamarcus-aldridge-seriously-considering-return-nba-season-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>). Just based on the finesse center's face-up capabilities and ability to stretch the floor, he should draw plenty of suitors. He last played for the Nets.
Isaiah Hartenstein (UFA)
The Nuggets traded Hartenstein to the Cleveland Cavaliers at last spring's deadline. He seemed to find a groove in Cleveland, averaging 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Hartenstein is still only 23 and was a second-round pick in 2017.
DeMarcus Cousins (UFA)
Cousins fell out of the Clippers' playoff rotation because he simply wasn't up to par with the smaller, faster matchups he often faced. Injuries have drained the 30-year-old of his athleticism. But Cousins quietly became a knockdown, low-volume shooter (42.1% on 1.2 threes per game), and that could be a way to keep his NBA stock afloat.
Others include: Aron Baynes, Bismack Biyombo, Ed Davis, Harry Giles, T.J. Leaf, Patrick Patterson, D.J. Wilson, Ersan Ilyasova, Alen Smailagic, Luke Kornet, Tacko Fall

Paul Millsap headlines the list of remaining free agents.

Which notable NBA free agents are still unsigned?

LaMelo Ball has put the Charlotte Hornets back on the map.
The 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year helped energize a fanbase that was yearning for a long-term building block after Kemba Walker&rsquo;s departure in 2019. Ball provided a spark of youthful energy and displayed extremely intriguing two-way upside, averaging 15.7 points, 6.1 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. In the process, the 19-year-old accelerated the Hornets&rsquo; development curve.
Since 1996-97, only seven rookies have put up a year-long 15-6-1.5 statline: Allen Iverson, Steve Francis, Chris Paul, John Wall, Michael Carter-Williams, Ben Simmons and Ball. Throw in Ball's 5.9 rebounds and only Carter-Williams and Simmons matched his first-year production. And once Ball became a full-time starter, his numbers were even more impressive: 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals on a 54.5 True Shooting percentage.
The Hornets have a budding superstar who's ready to take the NBA by storm in short order, which is a key component for any organization looking to take the ever-important leap forward.
Quietly, Charlotte has been one of the biggest offseason winners. Across the board, the Hornets improved their roster and made moves that will allow them to compete in the immediate future while also developing an enticing young core. Take a look at how they tinkered with their roster to best fit Ball&rsquo;s strengths as a fast-paced floor general with blossoming three-level scoring ability:
Outgoing: Devonte&rsquo; Graham, Cody Zeller, Malik Monk, Bismack Biyombo, Brad Wanamaker, Caleb Martin
Incoming: James Bouknight, Mason Plumlee, Kelly Oubre Jr., Kai Jones, Ish Smith, Wes Iwundu, JT Thor, future first-round pick (via the New Orleans Pelicans)
The Hornets drew huge praise for their draft-night haul, for obvious reasons. Landing James Bouknight, one of the best pure scorers in the 2021 draft class, was a massive steal at No. 11. Charlotte traded up to acquire tantalizing big man Kai Jones, who possesses unicorn-esque traits, which gives their backcourt a future transition running mate who can protect the rim with further physical development. JT Thor, who has been described as a possible <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/jt-thor-could-be-2021-nba-draft-diamond-in-the-rough-auburn-tigers-prospect" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diamond-in-the-rough</a>, is an upside swing who could also pay huge dividends down the road. BasketballNews.com's NBA Draft experts Matt Babcock and Derek Murray both named the Hornets as one of their <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2021-nba-draft-recap-winners-and-losers-steals-biggest-surprises-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biggest draft-night winners</a>.
Add Charlotte's strong 2021 draft haul alongside Ball, Miles Bridges and P.J. Washington and the Hornets&rsquo; core should be set for years to come. Ball and Bouknight are an awesome one-two scoring punch who can play off one another seamlessly. Bridges and Washington have flashed immense upside already in their young careers. If Jones and Thor reach their max ceilings, Charlotte has a terrifying big duo that can do things on both ends of the court.
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Pivoting over to the veterans that Charlotte acquired, these three immediate contributors will add a much-needed boost to a rotation that's filled to the brim with youth.
Recently signed to a two-year, $25 million deal, Kelly Oubre Jr.&rsquo;s run-and-gun mentality should allow him to flourish alongside Ball, who will set him up for easy looks in transition. If Oubre completely buys into a sixth-man role, there&rsquo;s real potential for him to garner Sixth-Man-of-the-Year consideration next season. One year ago, Oubre was coming off a career-best season with the Phoenix Suns in which he averaged 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks while mastering his role as a cutter in Monty Williams&rsquo; &ldquo;0.5 Offense.&rdquo; After a down year with the Golden State Warriors, it's very possible that the 25-year-old can have a strong bounce-back season in Charlotte.
Mason Plumlee is an upgrade over Zeller as a starting center, and he can also be an underrated secondary playmaking engine. Charlotte only had to give up the No. 57 pick for Plumlee and the No. 37 pick (which became Thor) since the Detroit Pistons wanted to dump Plumlee's salary due to Isaiah Stewart&rsquo;s emergence. It seems like a draft-night steal for the Hornets. With the Pistons, Plumlee&rsquo;s high-basketball IQ allowed him to set up opportunities for others around the rim as a high-post initiator, averaging a career-best 3.6 assists. And if Jones' development is accelerated during his rookie campaign, Plumlee would accept a bench role, or he can be flipped at the trade deadline for a future asset.
Ish Smith is a reliable backup point guard and a steady presence, who can also play alongside Ball in spurts. With 11 years of experience, Smith is a great veteran leader who can teach Ball some more tricks of the trade throughout the season.
To top things off, Charlotte was also able to swindle a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick from the Pelicans in the Devonte' Graham sign-and-trade, which was another big offseason win. Graham&rsquo;s role in the Queen City was capped, especially after Bouknight was drafted No. 11 overall. Now, the Hornets have another first-round pick at their disposal.
Even with all of these moves by <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-mitch-kupchak-wait-3-4-years-before-judging-lamelo-ball-charlotte-hornets-michael-jordan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GM Mitch Kupchak</a>, the Hornets still have two key pieces already on their roster: Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier. Both were integral parts to the Hornets reaching the Eastern Conference play-in tournament last season.
In Hayward&rsquo;s best season since 2016-17 with the Utah Jazz, he poured in 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 41.5% on three-pointers. Before Hayward&rsquo;s season-ending right foot sprain in early April, the Hornets were above .500 at 25-23. Once Hayward went down, Charlotte finished their season 8-17 if you include their 144-117 blowout defeat versus the Indiana Pacers in the play-in game. A healthy Hayward should slide right back into a primary role within the Hornets&rsquo; offense.
Meanwhile, Rozier finally put together an efficient season in which he reached another level as a scoring dynamo. Rozier averaged a career-high 20.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.3 steals while hitting three-pointers at a 38.9% clip. During his two-year stint in Charlotte, Rozier has stabilized as a high-volume perimeter scorer, converting 39.6% from deep on 7.5 attempts per game.
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Entering the final year of his contract, Rozier is unlikely to be in the Hornets&rsquo; long-term plans with Bouknight&rsquo;s arrival. This means Rozier could be used later this offseason or near the trade deadline to add another future asset. However, if Charlotte becomes a true playoff threat, Rozier&rsquo;s bucket-getting ability will be big for the Hornets.
Entering into an important season for prospect development and immediate improvement, here&rsquo;s how the Hornets&rsquo; rotation shapes out:
Starters: Ball, Rozier, Hayward, Bridges, Plumlee
Second Unit: Smith, Bouknight, Oubre, Washington, Jones
Many teams in the Eastern Conference have assembled strong rosters that seem poised to leap into playoff contention. Charlotte has joined this ever-growing list with their eye-opening offseason haul. If the Hornets are able to finally crack through into postseason play for the first time since 2016, it will prove their rebuild is finally heading in the right direction.
Ball headlines a new era that's generating plenty of buzz in Charlotte, but there&rsquo;s a lot more depth to this roster that's ready to surprise the Association this upcoming season.&nbsp;

Led by LaMelo Ball, the Charlotte Hornets' strong offseason moves make them a legitimate playoff contender in 2021-22.

Hornets ready to fly up standings following strong offseason

If you blinked even once, you might have missed most of the NBA free-agency drama.
After two days of the moratorium period, many of the best available stars have locked up new contract agreements. Kyle Lowry is taking his talents to South Beach via sign-and-trade, and DeMar DeRozan is off to Chicago in the same scenario. Chris Paul has re-upped with Phoenix.
Dozens of free agents jumped off the board, but plenty of quality players are still searching for a new squad. If you've lost track of who's available, we have you covered here. Here are the best options remaining at each of the positional groups.
Updated 8/6/21*
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Guards</h2>
Dennis Schroder (UFA)
Schroder reportedly turned down a four-year extension worth $84 million during the season. At this stage, it is unclear where he could sign, or for how much. Schroder started all 61 regular-season games played for the Los Angeles Lakers last season.
Wesley Matthews (UFA)
Matthews has now played for five teams in three seasons. The 34-year-old most recently suited up for the Lakers in 2020-21, averaging 4.8 points per game in a bench role. Matthews provides toughness on both ends as a 3-and-D veteran.
J.J. Redick (UFA)
Redick can still shoot it (37.1% from three last season) but has lost much of the explosiveness off the ball that had made him such a threat throughout his career. The 37-year-old played for the Pelicans and Mavericks last season, and could help a team searching for an offensive spark.
Hamidou Diallo (RFA)
Diallo was traded somewhat surprisingly from Oklahoma City to Detroit last year. With the Pistons, the athletic guard averaged 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Still just 23 years old, he's a worthwhile flier, though the Pistons can match any offer.
Avery Bradley (UFA)
Bradley was traded from Miami to Houston at the March 25 trade deadline, but did shoot 42.1% from long range during his short stint with the Heat. The 30-year-old has been part of a number of successful teams, including the Lakers' championship squad in 2020. He'll be able to provide adequate shooting and defense wherever he lands.
Langston Galloway (UFA)
Galloway played a minor bench role for the Suns in their trip to the NBA Finals. The 29-year-old did what he was asked: he shot well from the perimeter (42.4%) and turned the ball over just 13 times in 480 minutes. He'll be a valuable and reliable reserve wherever he goes.
Others include: Frank Ntilikina, Isaiah Thomas, E'Twaun Moore, Brad Wanamaker, Jordan McLaughlin, Dante Exum
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Wings</h2>
Kawhi Leonard (UFA)
Leonard is still technically a free agent, and there have been no reports of him agreeing to a new contract yet. But all signs have pointed to him <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31936595/source-kawhi-leonard-declines-36-million-player-option-next-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">staying with the Los Angeles Clippers</a>, hence the lack of chatter. Unfortunately, it'll be a while before we see him in game action as he recovers from the ACL injury suffered in the 2021 playoffs.
Josh Hart (RFA)
Hart has not had the same perimeter success as he did coming out of Villanova in 2017. He made just 32.6% of his attempts this past season, and is below 35% from the arc in his career. The 26-year-old does rebound well for his position; Hart averaged 8.0 per game last year.
Justise Winslow (UFA)
It just hasn't quite clicked yet for the former 2015 lottery pick, who fought the injury bug and appeared in 26 games for the Grizzlies in 2020-21. He finished the regular season strong with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in a win over the Sacramento Kings. But Winslow shot just 35.2% from the floor on the year.
Svi Mykhailiuk
The former Jayhawk played 36 games for the Detroit Pistons before being dealt to OKC. Mykhailiuk had a down year shooting the ball (33.4% from deep in total), but profiles as a sharpshooter with room to grow.&nbsp;
Jarred Vanderbilt (RFA)
Timberwolves fans were intrigued by Vanderbilt last season. The 22-year-old made 30 starts and generally battled on defense and on the glass. Vanderbilt also made 71.7% of his attempts around the rim, and still radiates potential as a 6-foot-9 combo forward.
Isaac Bonga (UFA)
Bonga is still just 21 years old despite being drafted in 2018. He's another interesting name as a versatile defender who can handle the ball a bit at 6-foot-8. The German forward is also a non-shooter at this stage, but could develop into a rotation piece with the right developmental support.
Others include: James Ennis, Denzel Valentine, Garrison Mathews, Paul Watson, Stanley Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Gary Clark
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Bigs</h2>
Lauri Markkanen (RFA)
Markkanen's offseason has reached a confusing place. He was not part of the Chicago sign-and-trade that netted DeRozan, and the Bulls still have their qualifying offer in place, making Markkanen a restricted free agent. But with Nikola Vucevic locked down at center and Patrick Williams likely penciled in at power forward, it's tough to see where Markkanen fits if he were to return to the Bulls.
Paul Millsap (UFA)
Millsap has slowly regressed with age, and at 36 years old, is no longer the Swiss Army knife he has usually been on both ends. But he's still a versatile piece that teams can plug in at power forward or center while shooting the ball respectably. Millsap spent his last four seasons with the Denver Nuggets.
LaMarcus Aldridge (UFA)
It appears that the veteran Aldridge, who retired just a few months ago due to a heart condition, has consulted with medical personnel and decided to attempt a return to the NBA (<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31959203/former-all-star-forward-lamarcus-aldridge-seriously-considering-return-nba-season-sources-say" target="_blank" rel="noopener">per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski</a>). Just based on the finesse center's face-up capabilities and ability to stretch the floor, he should draw plenty of suitors. He last played for the Nets.
Aron Baynes (UFA)
The Toronto Raptors waived Aron Baynes today, per <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1422980538030297093" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania of The Athletic</a>. His run in Canada was underwhelming after a breakout season with the Phoenix Suns, but Baynes still combines physical interior defense, rebounding and a dash of perimeter shooting &mdash; all skills that benefit a modern-day big.
Isaiah Hartenstein (UFA)
The Nuggets traded Hartenstein to the Cleveland Cavaliers at last spring's deadline. He seemed to find a groove in Cleveland, averaging 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Hartenstein is still only 23 and was a second-round pick in 2017.
DeMarcus Cousins (UFA)
Cousins fell out of the playoff rotation because he simply wasn't up to par with the smaller, faster matchups he often faced. Injuries have drained the 30-year-old of his athleticism. But Cousins quietly became a knockdown, low-volume shooter (42.1% on 1.2 threes per game), and that could be a way to keep his NBA stock afloat.
Bismack Biyombo (UFA)
Biyombo has spent the past three seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. He started 36 games this season, and much of his value lies as a rim protector and finisher. Biyombo has averaged 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes over his career.
Ed Davis (UFA)
Davis is a well-liked veteran who suited up for 23 games with Minnesota during 2020-21. He rebounds ferociously, averaging 5.0 boards in just 13.0 minutes per game last year, but doesn't offer much as an offensive player.
Others include: Harry Giles, T.J. Leaf, Patrick Patterson, D.J. Wilson, Ersan Ilyasova, Alen Smailagic, Luke Kornet, Tacko Fall

A number of quality rotation players are still up for grabs in free agency. Here's what is left in the NBA's free-agent pool.

Which NBA free agents are still available?

Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv is exploring the possibility of bringing back American guard Bradley Wanamaker to the EuroLeague, multiple sources tell BasketNews and Israeli reporters Moses Barda and Eli Shvidler.
Source: <a href="https://basketnews.com/news-153256-maccabi-tel-aviv-showing-interest-in-bradley-wanamaker.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moses Barda via Basketnews</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Wanamaker has played in the NBA for three seasons, spending two years with the Boston Celtics before suiting up for the Warriors and Hornets in 2020-21. The 31-year-old spent seven prior seasons playing for European squads. This past year, Wanamaker averaged 5.5 points and 2.9 assists per game across 61 total contests.

Wanamaker played for the Warriors and Hornets this past season.

Maccabi Tel Aviv interested in signing Brad Wanamaker

A bunch of really good players got traded to really good teams at the NBA trade deadline, and some of them are doing better than others.&nbsp;
Why is that?
...Dare we quote Allen Iverson?
Chatter around the NBA includes complaints that teams do not have enough time to conduct practices regularly, in part because they spend so much time adhering to COVID protocols and being tested. The condensed schedule doesn't help either.&nbsp;
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said teams have practiced anywhere from 15-to-40 times, declining to be more specific. It varies from team to team.&nbsp;
The Dallas Mavericks have practiced 25 times, spokesman Scott Tomlin said.
When asked how often the team has practice, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said, "Rarely.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Mostly because of the schedule -- 29 some games in 30 or so days is hard," Cuban added. "So any days off are needed rest days... But sometimes you have to force-fit a practice. It's not that we can't. It's just that the physical toll of the schedule and the need for recovery by players make it difficult.&rdquo;
For teams that made midseason moves, it's tougher than ever to get new players acclimated. &nbsp; The Mavs acquired JJ Redick from New Orleans, but he has not yet played for Dallas, who had won five games in a row before dropping a 102-93 decision against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
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The best player in that game was Kelly Olynyk of Houston, who was acquired from Miami and is arguably Stephen Silas&rsquo; best or second-best player these days. Olynyk has averaged 17.4 points on 59.7% shooting since the trade.
But this column is about teams that are either in the playoff picture or in the hunt, so let&rsquo;s start with the best teams (listed by winning percentage), the player(s) they acquired and how things have been going since the March 25 deadline.&nbsp;
UTAH JAZZ (39-13): Acquired Matt Thomas from Toronto for a future second-round pick, but he has only seen spot minutes in four games and has done nothing of note.
PHOENIX SUNS (36-15): Acquired Torrey Craig from Milwaukee for cash, and he has been getting regular rotation minutes off the bench and scored in double figures in three of 11 games. He shot well, but was a minus-10 in 12 minutes in the Suns&rsquo; overtime victory over Utah on Wednesday.
PHILADELPHIA 76ers (35-16): Acquired George Hill from the Thunder and Ignas Brazdeikis from the Knicks. Hill has yet to play because of a thumb injury, but conceivably will help in the playoffs; Brazdeikis was waived Thursday. He played just eight minutes in one total game and missed all three of his shots.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (35-18): Acquired Rajon Rondo from Atlanta for Lou Williams and two second-round picks. Prior to going for 15 points and nine assists (and a plus-24) in 19 minutes against Phoenix last night, he had taken seven shots in two games and made two of them. But he plays that way from time to time every regular season, and then the playoffs come -- and we all know what happens. That&rsquo;s why he is known as &ldquo;Playoff Rondo.&rdquo; Nobody ever had that nickname, not even Robert Horry, so stay tuned.
DENVER NUGGETS (33-18): Acquired Aaron Gordon and Gary Clark from the Magic for Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and a future first-round pick; landed JaVale McGee from the Cavs for Isaiah Hartenstein and a future second-rounder. The Nuggets have not lost since Gordon arrived, and he has moved into the starting lineup in place of Paul Millsap. He has not been quite as proficient as teammate Michael Porter Jr., but he is shooting nearly 61% from the field while averaging 12.5 points. He was averaging 14.6 points in Orlando on 43.7% shooting. McGee has appeared only briefly in two games. Clark was waived on Thursday following the team's two-way contract signing of Shaq Harrison.
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MILWAUKEE BUCKS (32-18): Acquired P.J. Tucker and Rodions Kurucs from Houston for D.J. Augustin and D.J. Wilson, with some first-round picks and swaps changing hands, too. Tucker played in only three games, making one of four shots, before suffering a strained left calf that has sidelined him since March 24. Kurucs has not played.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (30-21): Acquired Norman Powell from the Portland Trail Blazers for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood. Powell was playing like the best player on the Raptors for all intents and purposes, and with Portland, he is logging heavy minutes as a starter and had a 32-point game in a loss to the Clippers on Tuesday night. Terry Stotts has a heck of a starting lineup, but in the end, it will all come down to the Blazers&rsquo; defense, as it always does. The Jazz outscored them 40-19 in the third quarter last night.
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CHARLOTTE HORNETS (26-24): The best team that nobody ever talks about (especially given the fact that LaMelo Ball went down) acquired Brad Wanamaker from Golden State for a second-round pick, and the Danny Ainge castoff has been solid (8.2 points, 3.2 assists), if not spectacular as the backup point guard in his 20-plus minutes per game.
ATLANTA HAWKS (27-25): They are 4-1 with former Sixth Man Award winner Lou Williams coming off the bench, and he has shot 60% from three-point range in 24 minutes per game. The Hawks gave up 131 points to the Memphis Grizzlies, which is not the sign of a good defensive team, but Lou was not acquired for his &ldquo;D.&rdquo; And the Grizzlies have been playing well lately.&nbsp;
MIAMI HEAT (27-25): Acquired Victor Oladipo from Houston for Olynyk, Avery Bradley and a pick swap; landed Nemanja Bjelica from Sacramento for Moe Harkless and Chris Silva; picked up Trevor Ariza from Oklahoma City for Meyers Leonard and a second-round pick. The East&rsquo;s most confounding team not named &ldquo;Celtics&rdquo; is 5-3 since the deadline passed, having just beaten the Lakers. Oladipo has shot only 23.5% from three-point range and has contributed relatively little. Now, Oladipo will miss the Heat's four-game road trip due to a right-knee injury. Ariza has moved into the starting lineup and has been hot and cold like a leaky faucet; and Bjelica has played six games, with his best performance coming in a win over the Cavs when he had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
BOSTON CELTICS (26-26): The team that got nothing in return for Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford picked up Evan Fournier from Orlando for Jeff Teague and two second-round picks; they also landed Moe Wagner and Luke Kornet from the Bulls for Daniel Theis and Javonte Green. The Celtics sit at seventh in the East. Fournier had an inglorious debut in green, going 0-for-10, but had a couple of very nice games since then, going a combined 11-for-16 from three in his two most recent games. He averaged 3 points in his first two games and 20 points in his next two. Kornet has proven serviceable, and Wagner has started in a game.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS (24-25): Acquired an injured Marquese Chriss from Golden State, presumably so that somebody down the line could replace LaMarcus Aldridge (who eventually was bought out and signed with the Nets). This sinking ship has lost four in a row, including a 24-point defeat at the hands of the JuggerCavs; Chriss was released to make room for Gorgui Dieng, who they signed off the buyout market.&nbsp;
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CHICAGO BULLS (22-28): Acquired Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and a pair of first-round picks; landed Daniel Theis, Javonte Green and Troy Brown Jr. from Boston and Washington in a three-team trade. These moves made Billy Donovan the winner of the &ldquo;Figure It Out On The Fly&rdquo; award. Vucevic, an All-Star, has adapted quickly, going for 32 points and 17 rebounds against the Pacers on Tuesday; Aminu and Green have not been rotation players. Theis was okay before going for 14 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday, and Brown has come off the bench and provided depth as a defense-first, playmaking forward. Arturas Karnisovas perhaps earned the &ldquo;Executive of the Year&rdquo; award for getting Vucevic, who will be the best player on the court in every play-in game he participates in.&nbsp;
Donovan will eventually have to acclimate the new Bulls with the old Bulls through practice, and it&rsquo;ll be up to him how to make that happen.
Yes, Mr. Iverson, we are talkin&rsquo; about practice. NBA teams are averaging about 1.8 practices per week this year. Last year (pre-bubble), it was 1.9, and the year before it was 2.0.
Practice makes perfect, and nobody in the NBA is unbeaten. But somebody is going to emerge as a champion by the end of the season, and how to get there is every team&rsquo;s ongoing challenge.

Chris Sheridan checks in on the players who were dealt at the NBA trade deadline and how they've performed with their new teams.

How recently-traded players on good teams are faring

Nekias Duncan dissects every detail of the moves that went down at Thursday's NBA trade deadline and gives them grades.

Grading every move from the 2021 NBA trade deadline

The Charlotte Hornets have acquired Brad Wanamaker from the Golden State Warriors.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1375162024146141184" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shams Charania/Twitter</a>
ANALYSIS:&nbsp;Wanamaker is a third-year point guard who spent last season with the Boston Celtics. The 31-year-old was struggling mightily with the Warriors this season, shooting just 35 percent from the field and 21 percent from distance. He is a steady decision-maker and should be a reliable reserve in Charlotte.

Wanamaker signed with Golden State in the 2020 offseason.

Hornets acquire Brad Wanamaker from Warriors

The NBA trade deadline is now nine days away, and while we can safely assume that all 30 teams want to get better, we must proceed expecting two teams --the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks -- to play big roles in dictating what the market will look like.
There are lots of big men available, and anybody who tells you that Andre Drummond or Hassan Whiteside or JaVale McGee would not make a difference in an Eastern Conference playoff series has not been paying attention. Or as Gregg Popovich would say: &ldquo;Living in a phone booth.&rdquo;
Also, those who assume the Knicks (with $15.7 million in cap space) are not in win-now mode do not understand Tom Thibodeau. The guy is married to a basketball, and he is anxious to do in New York what he was unable to do in Minnesota and, to a lesser degree, in Chicago.
And then we have the Celtics, who are sitting on the largest trade exception ($28.5 million) in NBA history and are worse off that they were a year ago when they made the Eastern Conference Finals. Danny Ainge cannot stand pat and expect to get past the Nets, Sixers, Bucks or Heat.
The rumor mill will be churning between now and March 25, and every contending team in the East will be scheming to make an addition that attacks the weaknesses of Brooklyn and Philadelphia, while every Western team will try to find a way to compete with the three-point shooting of the Utah Jazz and the depth and experience of the Los Angeles Lakers.
So let&rsquo;s go through the league alphabetically and assess each team&rsquo;s needs, expectations and expendables.
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ATLANTA HAWKS: Nate McMillan is 5-0 as head coach, and the most active team in the weeks leading up to training camp remains built (if fully healthy) to advance if all of the pieces can fit together with almost zero practice time. John Collins is entering restricted free agency and is not as productive as he was a year ago, but he makes just $4.1 million. Put him in a deal with Tony Snell, though, and those combined salaries equal $16.3 million, which can get you a nice player.
BOSTON CELTICS: What made them special a year ago was the ability to get offensive production from three All-Star caliber starters: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward. But Hayward is gone, Enes Kanter is doing big things in Portland (remember how he was a game-changer for Boston in the postseason a year ago?) and Kemba Walker is shooting 38% in his 10th season. Standing pat is not an option.
BROOKLYN NETS: At some point they will need a third center to join DeAndre Jordan and Nicolas Claxton, but the buyout market or the China market (the CBA season ends before the NBA playoffs) may be the easiest way for Sean Marks to add an extra big body if they cannot get a big man whose contract fits into their $5.7 million disabled player exception. Spencer Dinwiddie is the only superfluous player on the roster, but he is out for the remainder of the season, and the Nets have no future draft picks to throw into a deal. They used them all in the Harden trade.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS: Michael Jordan&rsquo;s team is 100-1 to win the East despite having the lock for Rookie of the Year, a four-game winning streak and a roster chock full of young and hungry players who, for the most part, lack postseason experience. At a certain point, they have to realize they could have done better than Cody Zeller ($15.4 million) with the fourth pick of the 2013 draft. It might be time to sacrifice a future first-round pick or two to upgrade at center. Malik Monk has been playing well lately, otherwise, we would predict his imminent departure. The Hornets have an open roster spot and $4 million in cap room.
CHICAGO BULLS: It would be delusional of them to think they can advance beyond the first-round of the playoffs, which is why they have to consider getting a good young player from a contender in exchange for Thaddeus Young ($13.5 million), who is the leading candidate to finish a distant second to Jordan Clarkson in Sixth Man of the Year voting. &nbsp;Tomas Satoransky ($10 million this year and next year) is 29 years old and could be combined with Young to bring in a good young player. Here is an idea:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Who says no? <a href="https://t.co/Pc61DX8jQV">pic.twitter.com/Pc61DX8jQV</a>
&mdash; Chris Sheridan (@sheridanhoops) <a href="https://twitter.com/sheridanhoops/status/1371826941804883973?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2021</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: Aside from the inevitable Drummond and McGee moves (best offers arrive at 2:59 p.m. on deadline day), Koby Altman will probably keep quiet after acquiring Jarrett Allen from the Nets and sending Kevin Porter Jr. to the Rockets. Kevin Love is going to be dead money for two more seasons and Cedi Osman is looking like he will be in the same category, though not quite as expensive. It&rsquo;ll be a long road back.
DALLAS MAVERICKS: They should be better than their record (20-18), but the West is tough. Dwight Powell ($11 million this season and the next two) is not worth what he is being paid and could be packaged with more future No. 1 picks (the Mavs can&rsquo;t trade their own first-round draft pick until 2025 because they owe the Knicks their 2021 and 2023 picks), if mortgaging the future is something Mark Cuban is cool with. Powell and James Johnson for Drummond works cap-wise.
DENVER NUGGETS: A rumor is out there that the Nuggets have spoken to the Magic about acquiring Aaron Gordon, and the price would include Bol Bol. They currently do not look like they have enough to come out of the West, and JaMychal Green has not been an adequate replacement for Jerami Grant. To a lesser degree than Boston, standing pat does not seem like the most prudent option. They have a $9.6 million trade exception, so expect them to make some sort of acquisition that improves the roster. They are one player away from being one player away.
DETROIT PISTONS: Troy Weaver might have already made his &ldquo;deadline deal&rdquo; in getting Hamidou Diallo from the Thunder. Wayne Ellington is superfluous, and one would think teams might like a 14-year veteran who shot 42% from three-point range with a manageable $1.6 million salary&hellip; But the Knicks couldn&rsquo;t find a taker for him a year ago.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: Limbo sucks, but Klay Thompson will be back next season. In the meantime, the best they can do is hope that the Wolves&rsquo; pick is not top three and they can get another high lottery pick to put next to James Wiseman for the years ahead. Kelly Oubre Jr., Kent Bazemore, Brad Wanamaker and Marquese Chriss are all on expiring contracts. Their combined salaries total $20.6 million. The Warriors can acquire a player into Thompson&rsquo;s $9.25 million disabled player exception.
HOUSTON ROCKETS: We are seeing a flurry of Victor Oladipo trade rumors, which is strange because he was the biggest piece they got in the Harden trade. If they are disappointed in him (and his expiring $21 million contract) they must not have been watching Pacers playoffs games the past few seasons. Kevin Porter Jr. was a nice pickup, and Rafael Stone is probably on the hunt for another player who has worn out his welcome for non-basketball reasons. P.J. Tucker is headed somewhere. Dante Exum (expiring $9.6 million contract) didn&rsquo;t quite work out for a fifth overall pick, eh?
INDIANA PACERS: Acquiring Caris LaVert for Oladipo as part of the Harden trade will go in Kevin Pritchard&rsquo;s trophy case, so the question now becomes &ldquo;What next?&rdquo; aside from waiting for T.J. Warren&rsquo;s broken foot to heal. They are in 10th place, which wasn&rsquo;t exactly what they had in mind for this season. Still, Indiana has a nice mix of players in their mid-to-late 20s. Doug McDermott (expiring $7.3 million) and T.J. McConnell (expiring $3.5 million) could be a useful shooter and pest duo for a playoff team willing to give up a draft pick and a matching expiring salary. Indiana is probably better off keeping both and rolling the dice in the play-in postseason.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS: They have everything they need except the Lou Williams they had gotten used to over the past three seasons. His scoring average is down almost six points. Serge Ibaka (scoring average down 4.5 points) is showing his age at 31 and has a 15% trade kicker. Both still have plenty of playoff experience, but Jerry West likes to make trades when he can find the right ones. The Clippers are an interesting team to watch at the deadline because they have an open roster spot, but they are also within a $500,000 of the hard cap, which limits their options.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS: They need nothing except for Anthony Davis to be healthy, so the Lakers are the winner of the &ldquo;Most Unlikely To Make A Trade&rdquo; award. They are option No. 1 for pretty much everybody getting a buyout after the deadline.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: More than a year later, we are still trying to figure out the Justise Winslow acquisition. Taylor Jenkins&rsquo; rotation goes 10 deep, not including the team&rsquo;s highest-paid player in Gorgui Dieng -- $17.2 million. They are young and they are not a good team, yet they are still in contention for a play-in spot, so that incentivizes them to get creative.
MIAMI HEAT: The rule of thumb used to be &ldquo;Pat Riley hates making midseason trades,&rdquo; but he went out and got Andre Iguodala and Jae Crowder last season and built an NBA Finals team. So you would think they would be predisposed to tinker despite their recent run of 11 victories in 12 games. Kelly Olynyk ($12.6 million) and Moe Harkless ($3.6 million) are on expiring deals, and Avery Bradley is gathering dust. They can take on long-term money if the incoming player is worthy of it, but that would likely involve trading a starter (Olynyk). They also have a $7.5 million trade exception but owe Oklahoma City two first-round picks.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS: Veteran Bucks writer <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/podcasts/the-sheridan-show/episodes/basketballnews-com-episode-16-gery-woelfel-on-milwaukee-bucks-chances,-possible-trade,-other-east-contender">Gery Woelful said on my most recent podcast</a> that he fully expects the Bucks to try to find an upgrade from Donte DiVincenzo at shooting guard. The salaries of DiVincenzo and D.J. Wilson add up to $7.5 million, and it is hard to see Jon Horst moving anyone else on this roster. They are not last year&rsquo;s Bucks, but they theoretically have enough to get to the NBA Finals. They are very close to the hard cap and cannot trade any more picks after using so many in the Jrue Holiday acquisition.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES: The team is for sale, so do not expect Gersson Rosas to take on any long-term money. They have already changed coaches, and they have nothing anybody would want except for Karl Anthony-Towns, who isn&rsquo;t going anywhere. Okay, they have Ed Davis, who may be somebody&rsquo;s consolation prize as contending teams search for bigs. Nominations for the Dumpster Fire Award are now closed.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS: Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are not available. You can safely assume that everyone else is, and David Griffin does not need to hold anybody else up because he already did that to Horst. This was not supposed to be a throwaway season, but it is. The Pelicans would like to get J.J. Redick closer to his family, who live in Brooklyn. Exactly how close? Well, when Redick played for the Sixers, he commuted to Philadelphia. So &ldquo;close&rdquo; is a relative term. Boston is drivable from Brooklyn.
NEW YORK KNICKS: As mentioned above, they are the team to watch most closely. They can take on long-term money if the incoming player is someone who can tolerate Thibodeau&rsquo;s coaching style, and they would bring in a player on an expiring contract if they believed that player&rsquo;s Bird rights would be of value over the summer. Leon Rose is one year away from having a top-three team in the East if he plays his cards right a week from Thursday.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER: Sam Presti likely has George Hill, Trevor Ariza and Mike Muscala available to the highest bidders. Hill was an important piece of the Bucks last season and could help a playoff team needing a bench shooter and veteran voice in the locker room. At a certain point, Presti is going to have to package together some of the 20 extra first and second-round picks he has accumulated through trades, but that point is probably a couple of years away as the rebuild runs its course. Important: If Houston&rsquo;s pick is in the top four, the Thunder get it. Also, Presti has three trade exceptions; the largest is $27.6 million.
ORLANDO MAGIC:&nbsp; Aaron Gordon trade rumors are everywhere, which makes sense because the time to cash in on their seven-year investment is now. They need to get younger and acquire assets to build around Markelle Fultz, Nikola Vucevic and Jonathan Isaac. Their ceiling should not be the kind of first-round exits they have been producing the past two seasons, and they have not won a single playoff series since 2009-10. So, it would be shocking to see them keep Gordon, who is only 25 years old and can bring a lot in return. Gordon is a good guy who needs a change of scenery and deserves one. Same goes for Evan Fournier.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS: They wanted James Harden and did not get him, and Doc Rivers still somehow kept Ben Simmons committed to the team. That is pretty huge, because players who know they have been shopped usually resent it. They are in first place in the East and have a roster with the proper pieces to match up with Brooklyn. Mike Scott&rsquo;s expiring $5 million deal and the Knicks&rsquo; 2021 second-round pick are Elton Brand&rsquo;s most movable trade assets, but Scott has been playing well lately. Terrence Ferguson, Vincent Poirier and Tony Bradley are on expiring contracts but would bring little in return.
PHOENIX SUNS: Acquiring Chris Paul checked the &ldquo;monster trade&rdquo; box, and the NBA&rsquo;s most overachieving team will likely abide by the &ldquo;If It Ain&rsquo;t Broke, Don&rsquo;t Fix It&rdquo; rule. That being said, if an on-the-ball defender capable of defending LeBron James is out there somewhere, you kick the tires on just about anything that does not include Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and Chris Paul. Ariza would seem to be a fit.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS: Like Dallas, they should be better than their record&hellip; and would be if C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic had not gotten injured. At full strength, they are going to be a tough out in the postseason. Gary Trent Jr. is on an expiring contract and they may fear losing him, so keep that in mind with these guys. They are sleepers.
SACRAMENTO KINGS: What they can get for Whiteside will be interesting to see, because he was killing it for the Blazers last season. Then, Nurkic returned in the bubble. Whiteside does not exactly have the best reputation around the league, which is why he played in Lebanon and China before resurrecting his career. There are also a lot of Harrison Barnes rumors out there, and like the Magic and Gordon, it may be time for the Kings to cash in on the three-year investment they made in Barnes after acquiring him from Dallas. He makes $22.2 million. Does Nemanja Bjelica have any value? Same question has to be asked of Jabari Parker.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS: The LaMarcus Aldridge era is in its final days, and you have to wonder if the Patty Mills era is, too. Derrick White is signed long-term and Dejounte Murray is damn good. The expiring contracts of Aldridge and Mills add up to $37.2 million, and if you include Rudy Gay&rsquo;s expiring deal that number becomes $51.2 million. They are 20-16, yet, as currently constituted, not good enough to do much in the postseason. R.C. Buford wins the award for the league executive most overdue to make a trade.
TORONTO RAPTORS: The name that is out there now is Kyle Lowry, who has spent nine seasons of his 16-year career playing for the team that now calls Tampa its home. Having lost five in a row and sitting in 11th place in the Leastern Conference, Masai Ujiri must determine whether it is time to turn Lowry&rsquo;s expiring $30.5 million contract into something of value. At 35 years old, Lowry can still play and, percentage wise, is hitting threes, twos and free throws better than he has over the past four seasons. But this would not be a giveaway, and a sign-and-trade in the offseason is still possible.
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/usatsi_15729880_lg.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="auto" />
UTAH JAZZ: Like Phoenix, the &ldquo;If It Ain&rsquo;t Broke , Don&rsquo;t Dix It&rdquo; rule applies. They are in first place in the West, are making threes better than anybody and have Rudy Gobert finding new and incredible ways to never, ever be mentioned in the MVP debate. None of their nine rotation players is going anywhere, and no one else on the roster has either a big contract or much trade value. Still, someone on the team could be a giveaway because the Jazz are $1.9 million over the luxury tax line. They have already traded five of their next seven second-round picks (they don&rsquo;t have one until 2025).
WASHINGTON WIZARDS: You&rsquo;ve got to feel bad for Tommy Sheppard, one of the best guys and better GMs in the league -- he was able to turn John Wall into Russell Westbrook but then lost Thomas Bryant and had his team put on ice because of COVID issues. They are now playing the busiest second-half schedule of any Eastern Conference team, and they theoretically have a puncher&rsquo;s chance against practically anyone in the conference if Westbrook keeps triple-doubling (he leads the league with 11). But they have lost four in a row and rank 12th. Robin Lopez and his expiring $7.3 million contract is their best trade asset. If they combined Lopez with Ish Smith&rsquo;s expiring contract, that totals $13.3 million.

With one week before the NBA's trade deadline, Chris Sheridan previews what could be in store for all 30 of the league's teams.

What to expect from all 30 NBA teams ahead of the Trade Deadline

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green picked up two technical fouls in the span of one timeout on Saturday, leading to his ejection with less than ten seconds remaining in the game against the Hornets. Terry Rozier would go on to hit a buzzer-beating shot to give Charlotte a 102-100 win.&nbsp;
"He crossed the line," <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/30938089/golden-state-warriors-draymond-green-crossed-line-late-ejection-steve-kerr-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kerr said of Green.</a> "That's the main thing. We love his passion and his energy. We would not be the team we are without him, but that doesn't give him license to cross that line, and he knows that."
The final moments of the game were controversial. After Kerr did not get a timeout off before a jump ball, Green and Gordon Hayward got tied up soon after, but Charlotte was awarded a timeout.&nbsp;
"There's a lot to unwind," Kerr said of the final few seconds. "But if you just want to cut to the chase, it's a very difficult call on a loose ball that becomes a jump ball that they get a timeout on. Especially because in the exact same situation, I was trying to call a timeout when Brad [Wanamaker] had the ball at the top of the key when they forced the jump ball just prior to that."
Draymond Green was assessed two technical fouls after arguing with officials.
"His first technical was assessed when he directed profanity at his opponent," Marc Davis said via a pool reporter. "He was assessed his first technical foul for verbally taunting an opponent. He then proceeded to direct screaming profanity at a game official and received his [second] technical foul and was ejected as per rule."
The Warriors fall to 16-15 in the loss, while Charlotte improves to 14-15.

Green was ejected late from a 102-100 Charlotte Hornets win.

Steve Kerr: Draymond Green 'crossed the line' in ejection

Nekias Duncan looks ahead to how the five teams in the Pacific Division will fare in the upcoming NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Pacific Division

Nekias Duncan looks ahead to how the five teams in the Atlantic Division will fare in the upcoming NBA season.

2020-21 NBA Season Preview: Atlantic Division

Stephen Curry is confident the Warriors will still be formidable without Thompson.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to hard at first, for sure. We&rsquo;ve been waiting seven months to get back out there,&rdquo; Curry said. &ldquo;Not seeing [Thompson] on the court, at first, is going to be weird. But I think we&rsquo;ve done a really good job in the offseason with James and our draft picks and in the free agency pool to put together a really solid roster. We&rsquo;re going to have to learn a lot really quickly, and we will need a full commitment from everybody.
&ldquo;We know we can compete with anyone in the league. It&rsquo;s kind of crazy. We know how great Klay is. Don&rsquo;t get me wrong. But we hear the chatter. &lsquo;It&rsquo;s the end of for us. This year is a wash. What are we going to do in the future?&rsquo; But we are in the moment right now. It&rsquo;s kind of refreshing being in that category as guys that are chasing. We know [the Los Angeles Lakers] are the defending champs. We got to beat them. We&rsquo;re ready for it.&rdquo;
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://theundefeated.com/features/stephen-curry-upon-hearing-about-klay-thompsons-injury-a-lot-of-tears/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marc J. Spears of ESPN </a>
ANALYSIS: With the additions of number two draft pick James Wiseman, Kelly Oubre Jr., Brad Wanamaker and others, Curry remains just as confident about the Warriors chances next season. Golden State will have a potential starting lineup of Curry, Wiggins, Oubre Jr., Green, and Wiseman. And with 2020 all-NBA rookie selection Eric Paschall off the bench, the Warriors will hope to be back in the playoff conversation next year.

Steph Curry is confident that the Warriors can still compete with anybody in the league, even without Thompson.

Curry confident Warriors can still compete without Klay

The Celtics will sign Jeff Teague to a one-year deal, according to a league source.
Source: <a style="color: #ffffff;" href="https://twitter.com/AdamHimmelsbach/status/1330325680362491905" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter)</a>
ANALYSIS: The 11-year veteran point guard is now on his way to Boston after being dealt back to Atlanta from Minnesota at the trade deadline last season. Teague is well past his prime but is still a great ball handler and passer. In 25 games that Teague played for Atlanta last year he averaged 7.7 points and 4 assists per game off the bench.
With Brad Wanamaker now on his way to Golden State, Jeff Teague will likely take his place as back-up point guard for Boston.

Free agent Jeff Teague and the Boston Celtics have agreed to a one-year deal.

Jeff Teague, Celtics agree to terms on one-year deal

The Golden State Warriors have agreed to a one-year contract with the Golden State Warriors worth $2.25 million.
Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1330314710584086530?s=19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adrian Wojnarowski/Twitter</a>

The former Celtics point guard will sign a one-year, $2.25 million contract.

Warriors agree to contract with Brad Wanamaker

The Boston Celtics saw their season end in the Eastern Conference Finals, a step up from their second-round disaster last season. The most important development came in the form of Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s ascension; a strong post-January stretch and even stronger playoff showing put him on the doorstep of superstardom.
The wing tandem of Tatum and Jaylen Brown is set to rule among the East&rsquo;s top tier for a long time (health permitting). Flanked by a pair of former All-Stars (Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward) and the do-everything-ness of Marcus Smart, it&rsquo;s hard to name teams with better top-fives than Boston.
Now, the fun part begins.
The Celtics have their core in place; this offseason will be about improving around the margins. Their most influential potential free agent, Hayward, has a player option worth over $34 million. It&rsquo;s safe to say he&rsquo;ll be opting in. As such, the Celtics likely won&rsquo;t have the big-boy mid-level exception (projected to be worth north of $9 million) available to them; they&rsquo;ll have the tax-payer&rsquo;s MLE to work with instead ($5.7 million), which may limit their options.
The always-informative Keith Smith has a more thorough breakdown of their cap situation, which you can find <a href="https://www.slamonline.com/nba/boston-celtics-salary-cap-space-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Let&rsquo;s take a look at some guys they&rsquo;ll look to bring back as well as some targets that could help them come back stronger than ever.
Key In-House Decisions
Enes Kanter*: Bring Him Back
Kanter has a player option worth a little over $5 million. It certainly isn&rsquo;t Hayward money, but I&rsquo;d be surprised if he turned that down unless he&rsquo;s willing to sacrifice some per-year money in exchange for years tacked on.&nbsp;
Regardless, Kanter brings some 82-game value as a rebounder and post scorer against second units. There are very specific playoff matchups he can thrive in; it wasn&rsquo;t a surprise that we mostly saw him in the Eastern Conference Finals when he was able to &ldquo;guard&rdquo; Andre Iguodala on the other end. I think he&rsquo;s a slightly overqualified &ldquo;break-glass-in-case-of-emergency&rdquo; option that Boston should look to bring back if the price is reasonable.&nbsp;
Brad Wanamaker*: Circle Back Later
Wanamaker was mostly fine as a back-up ball-handler last year, averaging 6.9 points while shooting over 36 percent from three. It shouldn&rsquo;t take much to bring him back, though there will be better options available. It makes sense to do some shopping first.
Semi Ojeleye*: Let Him Walk
Aside from being incredibly jacked, what exactly does Ojeleye do? There&rsquo;s some value in his ability to defend power wings, but he provides almost nothing on the offensive end. There are much better options in free agency, and that&rsquo;s if the Celtics don&rsquo;t decide to go wing hunting with one of their 27 first-rounders in this year&rsquo;s draft.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/clarkson2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="794" height="AUTO" />
Free Agent Guards 
Mid-Tier Option: Jordan Clarkson, Jeff Teague
Clarkson is coming off of, by far, the most efficient season of his career. He gave the Jazz a much-needed scoring punch once he arrived, averaging 15.6 points with a 56.9 True Shooting percentage during the regular season. Both of those marks increased (16.7, 57.7) during Utah&rsquo;s first-round showdown with the Denver Nuggets.&nbsp;
Clarkson trading out some of his pull-up long twos for threes went a long way to making him a more efficient option. Bringing Clarkson could be huge for limiting some of Walker&rsquo;s regular season workload. It would also take some of the bench-creation responsibility off of Smart.&nbsp;
Teague has been the quintessential average point guard for quite some time: &ldquo;fine&rdquo; at mostly everything, but doesn&rsquo;t really move the needle. Luckily for Boston, &ldquo;fine&rdquo; is really all they need behind or alongside Walker or Smart. Teague&rsquo;s still able to get to the rim, which could help open closeout attacks for others in the second unit.
Bargains: Tyler Johnson, Isaiah Thomas
Johnson had a pretty quiet regular season campaign, kicking things off in Phoenix before finding his way to the Brooklyn Nets mid-season. Johnson performed well in the postseason, averaging a shade under 14 points while unloading the clip from deep (39.3 percent on 7.0 attempts). He&rsquo;s a fearless driver and underrated rebounder; he isn&rsquo;t afraid of mixing it up with bigger players. He and Smart would form the most annoying backup backcourt to play against in the league.
If Boston&rsquo;s going to be in the market for a back-up point guard, why not go back to Thomas? He&rsquo;s beloved in that market and he has obvious rapport with head coach Brad Stevens. Earlier this year, <a href="https://hoopshype.com/2020/02/20/nba-rumors-isaiah-thomas-free-agency-celtics-wizards-kobe-bryant-interview-waived-chyna-ainge/">our Alex Kennedy asked</a> Thomas if he&rsquo;s open to a reunion with the Celtics.
&ldquo;For sure, if the opportunity presented itself,&rdquo; Thomas said. &ldquo;I hold no grudges, and they know that. I have genuine love for the city of Boston. If that were to happen, I&rsquo;d love to be part of what they have going on. You never know... If that opportunity presents itself, for sure. Time has passed.&rdquo;
He&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-news-playoffs-finals-isaiah-thomas-injury-free-agent">allegedly better than ever</a> after finally having hip surgery, and he&rsquo;s coming off a season in Washington where he proved he can still provide a spark offensively (12.2 points, 41.3 percent from three-point range).
Free Agent Wings 
Mid-Tier Options: Justin Holiday
Holiday is more 3-and-Decent than 3-and-D, but he&rsquo;s coming off of the best shooting season of his career (40.5 percent from three-point range on 4.5 attempts) while being a credible option against 2s and 3s. Boston needs guards more than they need wings, but he&rsquo;s certainly worth the MLE if it comes down to it.
Bargains: Garrett Temple*
Temple would give the Celtics a plus, multi-positional defender with a solid three-point stroke (35.3 percent over the past five seasons). The asterisk is present because the Nets hold a team option, though it&rsquo;d come as no surprise if they let Temple walk to free up tax room to bring back Joe Harris.
Free Agent Forwards
Mid-Tier Options: Paul Millsap&nbsp;
Millsap did look a bit washed at points during the postseason, but he still managed to defend Anthony Davis as well as nearly anyone while filling the gaps offensively. I&rsquo;d argue that Millsap has a bit more in the tank than it would appear; operating as the backline defender in Denver&rsquo;s aggressive pick-and-roll scheme puts a lot of strain on those old bones. Being surrounded by the perimeter defenders Boston has would take some pressure off of him. He could also moonlight as a small-ball 5 in favor of Daniel Theis in closing lineups if the situation calls for it.
Bargains: Mo Harkless, Luc Mbah a Moute
Harkless is a credible defender of 3s and 4s, though his jumper has always been the swing skill of his effectiveness. He&rsquo;s never been a high volume guy and even with that caveat, he has shot over 35 percent from three-point range in just three of his eight seasons. He can provide value as an eighth man during the regular season.
Mbah a Moute has fallen victim to his own body, with injuries derailing his last three seasons. It&rsquo;s probably far-fetched to expect his 2017-18 form, but he could serve as a nice &ldquo;break-glass-in-case-of-emergency&rdquo; defender during the season. Of course, the bar is the floor when you&rsquo;re essentially using this spot to replace Ojeleye.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/dwigh2_lg.jpg" alt="" width="796" height="AUTO" />
Free Agent Bigs 
Mid-Tier Options: Dwight Howard
The Celtics probably don&rsquo;t want to splurge too much on a center, They&rsquo;ve proven over multiple years that they can get value off the scrap heap, with Aron Baynes (probably out of their price range, funny enough) and Daniel Theis serving as recent examples. Theis is legitimately good -- not &ldquo;neutralize Bam Adebayo '' good, but good nonetheless. Robert Williams is in the pipeline as a potential two-way force.
If Boston wants a short-term upgrade as a backup five, giving Howard a call would make sense. He was one of the NBA&rsquo;s most productive bench bigs, averaging 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.9 minutes per game. Fouls were a problem, but Howard can provide a brand of rebounding, rim finishing and post defense that was missing behind Theis during the postseason.
Bargains: JaVale McGee, Harry Giles
McGee remains one of the NBA&rsquo;s top lob threats, equipped with solid leaping ability and a silly catch radius. He uses those limbs to putback misses and swat shots on the other end. Fouls and an inability to navigate space limit his ceiling, but a stopgap is all that&rsquo;s needed while Williams continues to learn the NBA game.
Giles has a bit of an injury history, dating back to his high-school days. Multiple lower-body injuries have sapped some of his athleticism, and he&rsquo;s still a fluid, jumpy big who can feast in transition. The intrigue lies in his on-ball skill; he&rsquo;s quietly one of the better passing big men in the league already. There&rsquo;s some serious &ldquo;throw-it-to-him-in-the-high-post-and-let-him-do-stuff&rdquo; potential waiting to be untapped. This would be a smart buy-low candidate to look into.

Nekias Duncan breaks down the Celtics' own free-agent decisions and suggests some players that Boston should target at each position.

2020 Free Agency Preview: Boston Celtics

The Miami Heat are one win away from their first NBA Finals berth since 2014.
To say this is unexpected would be an understatement. Preseason betting odds from <a href="https://twitter.com/br_betting/status/1149734652736876547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1149734652736876547%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Farticles%2F2845343-2020-nba-championship-odds-rockets-4th-betting-favorite-lakers-top-contender">Caesar&rsquo;s Palace</a> had the Heat on par with the San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers as title contenders. Rival Eastern Conference squads such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and these Boston Celtics were held in higher regard.
Even if you zoom in to this postseason, it&rsquo;s hard to fathom how the Heat have been winning. Miami&rsquo;s offense -- a surprising strength <a href="https://www.fivereasonssports.com/voices/how-erik-spoelstra-transformed-the-heats-offense/">after offseason renovation</a> -- has somehow gotten better against stiffer competition. Their 113 offensive rating this postseason is a slight bump from their regular-season mark (111.9).
It&rsquo;s been late jumpers from Jimmy Butler, fresh off one of the worst shooting campaigns of his career. It's been Jae Crowder, after back-to-back subpar shooting performances, still converting nearly 37 percent of his threes on 8.5 attempts per game this postseason. It&rsquo;s been Bam Adebayo mixing in fearless rim attacks with baby-soft mid-range jumpers.
On Wednesday night, it was Tyler Herro putting himself into Magic-Johnson territory with a 37-point performance. The swagadocious rookie showcased his entire bag -- pull-up jumpers, Eurostep finishes and enough live-dribble feeds to draw the audible praise of ESPN announcer Jeff Van Gundy on multiple occasions.
The Heat deserve their flowers, first and foremost. They&rsquo;ve played hard and well throughout this entire playoff run, and the coaching of Erik Spoelstra has been the stuff of legends.
On the flip side, it&rsquo;s also fair to wonder what the heck the Celtics are doing.
Rightfully heralded as a versatile and well-coached group defensively, the Celtics failed miserably on that end in Game 4. Their 116.7 defensive rating was the <a href="https://stats.nba.com/team/1610612738/boxscores-advanced/?Season=2019-20&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=1">second-highest mark</a> they&rsquo;ve allowed all postseason long. Their 134.8 rating in the second half of Game 4 was their worst showing of these playoffs.
Those numbers were primarily a result of Boston failing to corral the Heat&rsquo;s two-or-more-man actions. Pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs, the heart of Miami&rsquo;s halfcourt attacks, continuously gave the Celtics fits.
According to a source with access to Second Spectrum tracking data, the Heat generated 1.15 points per possession on trips featuring a pick-and-roll, and nearly 1.2 points per possession on trips featuring a dribble handoff. Those numbers rose to 1.23 and 1.24, respectively, in the second half.
Herro ate the Celtics alive in pick-and-roll. His pace, handle, and remarkable footwork allowed him to manipulate his defender into screens, then capitalize on the space afforded to him.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/Herro%20pull-up%203%20vs%20drop.gif" alt="" width="620" height="AUTO" />
The Heat kick off this possession with some screen-the-screener action. Goran Dragic sets a screen on Adebayo&rsquo;s man (Robert Williams) before Adebayo goes up top to set a screen for Herro.
Jaylen Brown actually does a nice job of fighting over the screen and contesting, but Williams is the primary culprit in this possession. Herro and Adebayo start their two-man dance at the NBA logo, and Williams only comes one (1) step above the foul line. Dragic made solid contact on the screen, but not enough to prevent Williams for ever showing higher up. Even with the contest from Brown, Herro basically gets a freebie above the break.
The Heat went to that well often late in the third quarter, to the point where Brad Stevens finally opted to give Grant Williams a brief run. Boston had much more success switching ball screens, flattening out the advantages the Heat wanted to create and forcing them to hunt out looks elsewhere.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/bbe.gif" alt="" width="620" height="AUTO" />
It should come as no surprise, then, that trips featuring a Herro-led pick-and-roll were more fruitful against drop defense than they were against switches, per the Second Spectrum source.
The same principle applied on dribble handoffs. The Heat hunted Boston&rsquo;s centers -- Daniel Theis or Williams -- with their shooters flying over handoffs, knowing that neither big wanted to play super high. Here&rsquo;s the opening possession from the fourth quarter.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/heat%20whirling%20DHOs.gif" alt="" width="620" height="342" />
It&rsquo;s easy to get dizzy watching the Heat flow into three different handoffs, with two extra screens from Adebayo and Duncan Robinson sprinkled in to boot. But there are two things I&rsquo;d like to point out, and they&rsquo;re connected to each other.&nbsp;
First and foremost, Theis never comes higher than the semicircle above the free throw line. Just won&rsquo;t do it, outright refuses. And that, in turn, puts an incredible amount of strain on Brad Wanamaker.&nbsp;
Wanamaker goes under the first handoff, which coincidentally would be the space you&rsquo;d want Theis to be filling. He then goes over the second handoff to funnel Herro downhill. The ball is pitched out to Robinson, who finds Adebayo before setting a screen for Herro to flow into the final handoff. Wanamaker just can&rsquo;t keep up, and there&rsquo;s no switch from Gordon Hayward for whatever reason.&nbsp;
The Celtics continuously allowed the Heat&rsquo;s shooters to see daylight. That&rsquo;s inexcusable on its own, but becomes even more baffling once you contrast their coverage of Herro with that of Butler.
Butler was able to dictate terms in a way that should honestly embarrass the Celtics. When playing a traditional drop coverage, the Celtics opted to have Butler&rsquo;s defender play into his chest and fight over the screen. This makes sense for a deep pull-up threat (like Herro), not someone like Butler who wants to get downhill and get to his floater, initiate contact at the rim, or force rotations and kick the ball out.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/butler%20vs%20drop%20%28foul%29.gif" alt="" width="620" height="342" />
(Why is Kemba Walker matched up with Butler on this possession? This came after a make! Boston is good at rejiggering matchups on the fly!)
When Boston opted to switch, they were pretty soft ones. There seemed to be no &ldquo;switch this, but only under X, Y, or Z circumstances&rdquo; plan, and that allowed Butler to shape possessions the way he wanted.&nbsp;
And then there were the traps.
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/butler%20trapped%20%281%29.gif" alt="" width="620" height="342" />
Instead of having Tatum dip under the pick, or even switch it, Boston sends two to the ball, putting Brown in a bind. He leaves Robinson to tag Adebayo on the slip. Luckily Butler isn&rsquo;t able to convert that pass, and Brown is able to recover. But as Brown recovers, Butler fits a dart in to Adebayo for a one-dribble pull-up.&nbsp;
You can argue the result is fine. An Adebayo mid-range jumper is a better concession than a three from Robinson. But the process was so flawed, and so unnecessary.&nbsp;
<img src="https://basketballnews-media.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/images/story/body/butler%20trapped%20%282%29.gif" alt="" width="620" height="342" />
Again, there&rsquo;s no need to trap here. It&rsquo;s a four-point game, and there&rsquo;s 1:40 and a little over half a shot clock remaining on the possession. Butler gets a pass to Adebayo, creating an advantage situation. Brown picks up Adebayo, which forces Marcus Smart to choose between taking away a sure-fire layup from Andre Iguodala or sticking with Goran Dragic in the corner.
Smart rightfully chooses to take away the layup, and Dragic gets the equivalent of a practice shot to put the Heat up seven.
For a team as talented, as versatile and as generally well-coached as the Celtics are, their performance late in Game 4 was inexcusable. There seemed to be a real lack of detail to their defensive gameplan. That may be the generous explanation. At worst, the Celtics looked like a team throwing things at the wall, hoping for a solution to stick.&nbsp;
If that&rsquo;s where they are, with that desperation showing in a game the Heat won while shooting 10-of-37 (27 percent) from three, this series might not make it past the weekend.

What the heck are the Boston Celtics doing? Nekias Duncan breaks down their struggles against the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the ECF.

Poor screen coverage doomed Boston Celtics in Game 4

The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics, 117-114, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 2 is on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. Here are the highlights from Game 1:
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ASSOCIATED PRESS GAME RECAP:
Jayson Tatum thought he had a dunk to tie the game.
Bam Adebayo had other ideas &mdash; and in the biggest moment of his young NBA career, Miami&rsquo;s All-Star big man more than rose to the occasion.
Jimmy Butler&rsquo;s three-point play with 12 seconds left put Miami ahead for good, Adebayo finished it off with a stunning rejection of Tatum at the rim on the ensuing Boston possession, and the Heat struck first in the Eastern Conference finals with a 117-114 win in Game 1 on Tuesday night.
&ldquo;When you have great competition like this, you just have to make plays that you can&rsquo;t even really explain,&rdquo; Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. &ldquo;And that was Bam tonight.&rdquo;
The Heat were down by 13 in the opening minutes, down by 14 in the final quarter and felt like a bad call took the lead from them in the final seconds. They found a way in overtime, improving to an NBA-best 9-1 so far in these playoffs.
Goran Dragic scored 29 points, Jae Crowder scored 22, Butler had 20 and Adebayo had 18. But even after a night when Butler made a go-ahead 3-pointer late in regulation and had the go-ahead-for-good points again in overtime, he pointed at Adebayo for his favorite moment.
&ldquo;Bam. That seals the game for us,&rdquo; Butler said. &ldquo;I love how he does any and everything that you ask him to do. I really do. You ask him to pass the ball, he does that. Score, he does that. Come up with a huge defensive stop, block, he does that. He&rsquo;s a huge part to our winning. I&rsquo;ve been saying it all year long and I&rsquo;ll repeat it again.&rdquo;
Kemba Walker&rsquo;s basket with 23.2 seconds left in overtime put Boston up by one, before Butler muscled his way to the rim for a score while getting fouled by Tatum. The Celtics went to Tatum on the ensuing possession, only to watch him get denied by Adebayo.
&ldquo;He made a great play,&rdquo; Tatum said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all it is. ... Can&rsquo;t do anything about it.&rdquo;
Tatum scored 30 points for the Celtics, Marcus Smart had 26 points, Walker had 19 and Jaylen Brown added 17. The Celtics had been 156-1 since the shot-clock era started 65 years ago &mdash; winners of 92 straight &mdash; when leading by 12 or more points going into the fourth quarter of a playoff game.
They&rsquo;re 156-2 now.
&ldquo;Got to make better decisions,&rdquo; Walker said.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens tipped his cap to Adebayo afterward.
&ldquo;He is a tremendous defender,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have to figure out, again, better ways to attack, especially late. I thought we really moved it at times, then we did get stagnant.&rdquo;
Miami&rsquo;s Tyler Herro was one assist shy of a triple-double &mdash; finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He would have been the second-youngest player in the last 40 years to have a postseason triple-double, one day older than Magic Johnson was when he got his first.
Johnson weighed in postgame on Twitter, lauding Miami.
&ldquo;Bam Adebayo&rsquo;s block on Jayson Tatum&rsquo;s dunk attempt was the best defensive play I&rsquo;ve seen ever in the playoffs!!!!" Johnson tweeted.
Boston led 85-71 early in the fourth and kept the lead for almost all of the final period &mdash; until Butler connected on a 3-pointer from the right corner with 22 seconds left for a 106-105 Miami edge.
The Celtics tied it before the clock even started again. Derrick Jones Jr. was called for an away-from-the-play foul while Miami defended the inbounds pass, a call where the Heat argued to no avail that he got shoved instead. Tatum went to the line, tied the game with the free throw, and Boston all of a sudden went from needing a score to being able to run out the clock.
Tatum&rsquo;s 3-point try at the end of regulation was short, and to overtime they went.
&ldquo;Made a hell of a block,&rdquo; Adebayo said. &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t dictate the series, though. We&rsquo;re only up 1-0.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Heat: Miami has gotten into early trouble in all three of its Game 1s in these playoffs &mdash; down eight to Indiana early in the first round, down 11 to Milwaukee in the opening quarter of the second round and down 13 to Boston in Tuesday&rsquo;s first quarter. ... Andre Iguodala, who played in zero conference-final games in his first 10 seasons, has now played in 22 since 2015.
Celtics: Boston&rsquo;s record for consecutive Game 1 wins is 11, from 1985 through 1987. The Celtics won eight straight from 1959 through 1962. ... Gordon Hayward (ankle) was inactive again, though the Celtics believe he can play in this series. ... Brad Wanamaker had five steals for Boston.
MIAMI VS. BOSTON
Tuesday was the 141st meeting all-time between the Celtics and Heat. It also marked the 39th all-time matchup between the Boston Red Sox and Miami Marlins &mdash; but it was the first time those four clubs all faced off on the same date. The closest they previously came to colliding was 2012, when the Heat topped the Celtics in Game 7 of the East finals on June 9 and the Red Sox and Marlins opened a series two days later.
WELCOME, DEUCE
Tatum&rsquo;s son young Deuce cleared quarantine and was reunited with his dad &mdash; and the rest of the Celtics &mdash; in the bubble on Tuesday. &ldquo;Ultimately, it&rsquo;s just nice for them to see their families,&rdquo; Stevens said. &ldquo;I walked down the hallway with Deuce today, which was the highlight of my 70 days here. I think that&rsquo;s just really cool.&rdquo;

The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics, 117-114, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.